An old friend and classmate, Ed Healy, put this on facebook the other day and immediately I saw its importance. "Call on me" came back to my memory, from a great preacher of the Gospel named Tony DiToro. I remember a sermon of his from the second of these two verses below. That is SOMETHING, because it was thirty+ years ago...
Jeremiah, Chapter 29
11 For I know the thoughts that I think toward you, says Yahweh, thoughts of peace, and not of evil, to give you hope and a future. 12 You shall call on me, and you shall go and pray to me, and I will listen to you. 13 You shall seek me, and find me, when you shall search for me with all your heart.
Jeremiah, Chapter 33
1 Moreover the word of Yahweh came to Jeremiah the second time, while he was yet shut up in the court of the guard, saying, 2 Thus says Yahweh who does it, Yahweh who forms it to establish it; Yahweh is his name: 3 Call to me, and I will answer you, and will show you great things, and difficult, which you don’t know.
God wants a close relationship with us. You and I are important to HIM!!! He desires that we should seek HIM with all our heart because HE loves US!!! The Bible encourages us to "Pray without ceasing"; that is, to live in such a way that at any moment we could transition whatever we are doing into communication with God. Tony did that and somehow I just know it was the reason he was such a powerful presenter of the Gospel. He has been in heaven now for many years and has an even better connection to God than I do; I envy his position... someday I hope to join him. How about you?
ps. Thank you Ed!!!!