Call unto me
“Call unto me, and I will answer thee, and shew thee great and mighty things, which thou knowest not.”Jeremiah 33:3
Reflection
Some call this verse "God’s telephone", because of the reference number (33:3), and behind the joke there is a beautiful truth: there is a line always open between you and Heaven. But the most impressive thing is WHERE this invitation was made. Jeremiah was IMPRISONED in the court of the guard when God told him "call unto me". He was without freedom, surrounded by bad news, the city about to fall. And it is in that scenario of captivity that God does not say "solve it yourself", but "call unto me". Prayer is the freedom that remains when all the others have been taken from us.
Notice the structure of the verse: an invitation ("call unto me") followed by a double promise ("I will answer thee AND shew thee"). God does not merely promise to hear — He promises to ANSWER. Many people pray like someone throwing a message in a bottle into the sea, without expecting a reply. But the God of the Bible is a God who answers. Not always in the format we want, not always in the timing we would like, but always with what we need. The apparent silence of God is almost never the absence of an answer; it is often an answer we have not yet learned to recognize.
And see the content of the promise: "great and mighty things, which thou KNOWEST NOT". There is a kind of knowledge that only comes through prayer — things you will not discover by reasoning, by human counsel or by effort, but that God reveals to those who call. Directions logic cannot reach, comforts the mind cannot fabricate, understandings that come only on one’s knees. Prayer is not merely a cry for help; it is a channel of revelation. Whoever calls receives access to "great things" hidden from those who do not ask.
Note also the adjectives: things "great AND MIGHTY". They are not vague revelations, passing feelings or hunches — they are mighty, solid, reliable. God does not play with those who seek Him. The problem is that we often live trying to solve everything by our own strength, and prayer becomes the last resort, when it should be the first. This verse is an invitation to reverse the order: before scheming, call; before despairing, call; before deciding, call. The line is open at this very moment, whether you are free as a bird or imprisoned like Jeremiah in the court. The God who invites is the God who answers — and what He has to tell you is greater than you know.
Prayer
Lord, thank You because the line to You is always open — even when I feel imprisoned, surrounded by bad news. I accept Your invitation: I call unto You. Answer me and show me the great and mighty things I do not yet know. Teach me to make prayer my first resort, and not the last. Amen.
Put it into practice
Reverse the order today: before trying to solve the situation that worries you most by your own strength, "call unto God" first — stop and pray specifically about it, asking Him to reveal to you "great things you do not know".
To reflect on
Has prayer been your first resort or your last — and what would change if you called unto God BEFORE trying to solve everything alone?
Bible text: King James Version (public domain).