Can You Hear Me Now? - Lochlanina Tobey

“Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for to you I pray. In the morning, O Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait in expectation.” Psalm 5:2-3

I always wonder about the other side of the conversation on those commercials. You know the ones I mean. The guy with his cell phone takes a step and says, "Can you hear me now? Good." We are given the impression that he has a signal everywhere from the bottom of the Grand Canyon to the top of Mount Katahdin.

But what if this guy is just wandering around talking to himself? Doesn’t he realize you have to wait for an answer from the other end? "You can still hear me? Good. I'm stepping over here. Can you hear me now?" Pause. What if the other end of the conversation is, "No . . . are you there? You're breaking up. Hello? Hello? I'm losing you. Hello!?"

What if that's how we pray sometimes? We think we are making a phone call straight to God. The technology works, but we aren't listening to the other end of the conversation nor have we bothered to actually dial the number. Perhaps we sometimes pretend to pray -- like an actor pretending to make a phone call.

What if we get so busy saying, "Good. I'm stepping over there now..." that we don't stop to wait for God's end of the conversation. We don't pause. We forget to wait for the, "Yes, my child" or the "No, I'm losing you, come back." Are we hearing, are we listening for God’s end of the conversation?

Our Father, who art in Heaven . . . can you hear me now?

Lochlanina Tobey uses her degree in English composition from Messiah College as an excuse for writing and teaching poetry. Her most recent prize winning poem, The Finality of Rain, appears on UtmostChristianWriters.com. In 2008 she trained with CLASServices, Inc. as a professional Christian speaker and feels blessed to minister as a leader and speaker at women’s retreats.

Read Lochlanina's devotions.

None Are Above It - She Said

“He will respond to the prayer of the destitute; he will not despise their plea.” Psalm 102:17

Listen to None Are Above It - She Said

The small South Carolina town smothered in the dog days of August. Opening the front door was like walking into a brick oven—heat so intense it sucked your breath away. The sand so hot, sandals were not an option. I crawled on my bicycle and pedaled toward town, the breeze of the passing cars a welcome refreshment.

I turned onto Main Street and headed toward the small farmer’s market. As I passed the City Hall, I heard a whimper. It must be a stray dog, I thought, but the closer I came, the whimpers became a cry. I stopped and walked toward a large dumpster. There sat a small girl, not more than eight.

“You okay?” I stepped over a box and knelt beside her. Perspiration dripped from her forehead and her shirt was soaked.

“I’m thirsty. Momma left and I got scared. When I tried to walk to where Momma worked I got lost.”

Blotting her face with my shirt tail, I said, “Tell me your address, I’ll ride you home on my bike.” I rode through the streets until I found her home. Makeshift boards hardly fit together to form the frame of a house, broken windows and busted door frames showed the stress of poverty. A faucet outside the house provided their only running water. I twisted the knob and the child filled her hands. She was destitute.

When she was safe and calm, I rode to the market. On my way home, I stopped by the shed this child called home, her mother now on the porch, tears dripping. I handed her my backpack filled with vegetables and bottled water. The woman could hardly speak.

“I’s prayed today for food for my baby. I’s got on my knees and prayed hard. Praise the Lord, He answered. Praise God.”

Jesus prayed for the destitute. Some sick, some impoverished, others simply lost to sin. Destitute in His own right, in His own pain and suffering, He prayed fervently for those who needed Him. God answered with the gift of forgiveness.

This woman, in her deprived situation, fell to her knees and pleaded. God heard and answered. I’ve been destitute, too. Broken and worn from the hardships of life—from sin. We’re all destitute in some way. None of us are above it. Perhaps it’s physical, maybe financial, or perhaps we’re simply ravaged by sin.

Destitution takes us to the humblest of places—our knees. Seek His help. Fall to your knees. When we as the destitute pray, God hears our pleas.



Eddie Jones and Cindy Sproles are friends and co-founders of ChristianDevotions.us. They co-write the popular He Said, She Said devotions and host BlogtalkRadio's Christian Devotions Speak UP! along with Marianne Jordan.

And now you can catch them each Friday evening at 7 p.m. on He Said, She Said Radio! (Call in number, 646-929-0706 ). They travel with Christian Devotions Ministries teaching the art of writing devotions at writers conferences across the country. Eddie and Cindy are featured in Spirit & HEART: A Devotional Journey.




Publisher: Lighthouse Publishing
ISBN: 978-0-9822065-1-5