Just Because

Our grown daughters know that unless I am out for a run or taking a shower, my cell phone is typically within arm's reach.  They know when they call, I usually answer right away.  My cell phone is not a leash attached to them, nor a tether, but a lifeline when they need it.

Sometimes there is an emergency call, as years ago now, when our oldest was locked out of her apartment five hundred miles away.  "Please pray, Mom."

Sometimes there is a checking in, as when one of our girls was working at a remote camp in Colorado one summer.  This was in pre-cell phone days, although in the wilderness where she was, a cell phone would have been virtually useless.  She called "collect" about every two weeks when she was able to get to a pay phone at the laundromat in town.  Our conversations were riddled with the noise of huge trucks which rattled the building as they sped by.  She called often after midnight my time, as she was living out West in a different time zone.  She knew no matter the hour, I would answer the phone.

Sometimes there is a  joyful announcement, as in an engagement or the birth of a child.

Sometimes there is a rare call for help at 2 am, "I need you to come."

But my favorite calls of all -- sometimes only a few minutes in duration -- are those when they call to say "hi, how are you," just to talk, to chat, to touch base, or as my husband's grandmother used to say, "So good just to hear your voice."   No reason needed at all.  Just because.

These things came to mind earlier this week when I read this verse: "...the prayer of the upright is His delight."  (Proverbs 15.8)  Our "calls" give God great joy. 

He always listens and responds to our cries and pleas for help,
 but how often do I pray
       just because of our relationship,
 not because I need something,
 or want to complain,
 or I've fallen in a proverbial ditch of life.

But just because.

Does "I don't have time to pray" really translate into "I really don't need You right now.   I'm not in any desperate straits.  Call You later?"

God doesn't answer our calls with "What do you want now?"
but, "Oh, so glad you called."

How precious are those prayers?  God treasures and keeps them forever.

"...with golden bowls full of incense,
which are the prayers of the saints..."
                      
                          Revelation 5.8

Just because
     He loves us that much.