Whenever I Call – God Answers

 

Psalm 86:1-7 (NLT)
“1 A prayer of David. Bend down, O LORD, and hear my prayer; answer me, for I need your help. 2 Protect me, for I am devoted to you. Save me, for I serve you and trust you. You are my God. 3 Be merciful to me, O Lord, for I am calling on you constantly. 4 Give me happiness, O Lord, for I give myself to you. 5 O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help. 6 Listen closely to my prayer, O LORD; hear my urgent cry. 7 I will call to you whenever I'm in trouble, and you will answer me.”

God is good all the time. This is a tremendous truth that we may hear often, but we sometimes have a difficult time truly believing it in our own lives. Whether it’s because we think our past mistakes disqualify us, we feel unworthy, or we’re struggling to understand God’s grace, some of us won’t allow ourselves to trust that God is for us. He wants us to win in life, but when we don’t know enough about Him and life has been very unkind to us, it can be difficult to shake that ‘unworthy’ feeling. We might have a tough time accepting that our situation will change–that God will turn things around for us. 

In Psalm 86:1-7, David, the psalmist, is real, reverent, surrendered, and confident in trusting that God hears and answers prayer. This should be our approach as well. Our Heavenly Father is consistent, and we can count on His faithfulness. Whether we’re in trouble, in need of forgiveness, or simply crying out from a place of desperation, God is always ready to respond. This passage reminds us of the importance of continually calling on the Lord when life gets difficult. We were never meant to go through storms alone. God is with us in every situation. 

We should never allow our mistakes and sins to keep us from seeking Him. God is good, and He doesn’t turn us away when we come to Him with a sincere heart. He welcomes us, forgives us, and restores us. His love is not based on our perfection, because we are not perfect. His love is based on His character. 1 John 4:16 (NLT) tells us, “We know how much God loves us, and we have put our trust in his love. God is love, and all who live in love live in God, and God lives in them.”

When we fall short, that's the very moment we need to run to Him, not from Him. As Psalm 86:5 (NLT) says, “O Lord, you are so good, so ready to forgive, so full of unfailing love for all who ask for your help.” No matter what we’ve done, His arms are open, and His grace is available. Let us keep seeking Him, trusting that His mercy is greater than our mistakes and wrongdoing.

There was a time when I had made such a mess of things that I couldn’t imagine that anything could pull me out of it. Failures were gripping every area of my life. I was constantly putting out fires, only to discover another one flaring up somewhere else. My circle of friends seemed few, and I was too weighted down with shame to go to God. He had been so good to me, but I took His goodness for granted and stubbornly refused to  call on Him. Days turned into months. Almost a year went by, and I still had not prayed for His help, feeling that I deserved everything that was going wrong.

People were lying on me, and those I once thought were in my corner became enemies. It was a crazy time, like none I had ever seen or heard of. Adding an abusive relationship to that mix was catastrophic, and I was deteriorating fast. I felt like I was losing pieces of myself—my joy, my identity, my will to even try. I smiled in front of people, but inside I was crumbling. I had become someone I didn’t even recognize. The pain was deep, and the silence from heaven felt even deeper. 

Psalm 34:18 (NLT) tells us, “The Lord is close to the brokenhearted; He rescues those whose spirits are crushed.” This scripture came back to me in my darkest hour. It wasn’t just my heart that was broken–every part of me seemed to be that way, and I presented my broken, downtrodden self to God. I remembered clearly what had been in such a haze the longest time: “whenever I call, God answers.” My stubbornness had blinded me from this truth for months, but my thankfulness to God for bursting through with this revelation was overwhelming. And I was also thankful to my own self, for allowing Him to finally rescue me before it was too late. He had been there all along, and I had refused to let Him in. 

That moment marked the beginning of my restoration. I didn’t come to God with eloquent words, and my faith was not perfect. I came to Him broken, weary, and just barely holding on. He met me with mercy. He didn’t get on my case or scold me for staying away so long. He simply embraced me. He covered me in His amazing grace and began putting the shattered pieces of my life back together. What I thought was the end turned out to be a new beginning. His love and goodness reminded me of who I truly was and who I still could become. If you’re in that place—tired, ashamed, or feeling too far gone—know this: God is near. He still answers. And it’s never too late to let Him in. ■

Scripture quotations marked (NLT) are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Inc., Wheaton, Illinois 60189. All rights reserved.

 “Whenever I Call-God Answers”, written by Kim for https://rescuefromdomesticviolence.blogspot.com© 2025. All rights reserved. All praise and honor to God through Jesus Christ, our Lord and Savior.