sometimes, from the other end of our house, i will hear one of the children yell, "mo-om!!!!" i have gotten to where i normally ignore these calls, because the few times i have answered i find myself yelling back, "we don't yell in the house!!!," and then mid-sentence i realize the error of my ways.
of course, there are always times when i recognize the cry of the injured or scared, and at those times i run to my kids to hold them. but the other day as i was ignoring one of these not so scared or hurt pleas, hoping that my son would come into the room where i was to let me know what he needed, it occurred to me that maybe my heavenly Father wants me to come closer to where He is so He can help me too.
you see, i don't ignore my children out of anger or convenience. its just that i cannot help them when they are in another room. and if i yell back at them, i know they won't hear or take in what i have to say anyways. maybe God is the same way with us. there are times when He recognizes our cry of fear or pain and comes running to our rescue. but so often when we pray, we are just shooting our needs at Him from a distance. when we feel like He's not answering, it's not that He's ignoring us, maybe it's just that He wants us to come closer, be still, and listen so that we will hear and understand the answers.
Psalm 46:10 "Be still and know that I am God...."
Psalm 34:11 " Come, O children, listen to me...."
