Prayer Works Even From "Far Away"

I’ve been in ministry for twenty-two years, but I’m sure I’ve learned more about the Lord from my wife and kids than from anyone else. In fact, here’s how God used my youngest son to teach me that prayer works from anywhere, even from “far away.”

One day I was leaving for work when my wife said she wasn’t feeling well. I quizzed her for a moment to find out what was wrong and decided I’d better take a personal day and stay home. But she insisted everything was fine and told me to go ahead with my plans.

At this point, I had a bright idea. This was an excellent time to make sure my nine year old son knew how to call me in case of an emergency. So I asked him to come to the back of the house where I was making the bed, and I walked him through the simple process of calling my cell phone. Of course, I wanted him to give it a try right there on the spot to guarantee he wouldn’t have any problems later on.

Sure enough, he dialed my number from our home phone. My cell rang, and I answered. We spent a minute standing ten feet from one another and had a nice chat, wrapped up the conversation, and he left the room. Okay, I thought. If there’s any problem while I’m gone, the “little man-of-the-house” can reach me, I assured myself.

But in about three minutes, my cell vibrated again, and when I glanced to check the call, it was my home phone number. Still standing in the back bedroom, I answered the phone with a smile and said, “Hello.”

“Hey, Dad,” came a familiar voice. “I just wanted to call from the living room to make sure this phone works from far way!”

I chuckled and shared with my son that our house phone works very well. In fact, I told him that he could even call China from our phone if he wanted to. Then I immediately made it clear he shouldn’t necessarily call China just in case he got any ideas!

How does this relate to prayer?, you ask. I guess it was about a week later when God used this story to remind me of a simple truth in Scripture. Sometimes when I walk through a valley, I wonder if God hears me because I feel “far away” from Him. At other times, I stray from God, and I’m afraid He can’t hear me because I’ve drifted too far.

But I know prayer works even from “far away” because God always has His eyes on me no matter where I go. I agree with the Psalmist when he says to the Lord, “You know when I sit and when I rise; you perceive my thoughts from afar” (Psalm 139:2, NIV). So it really doesn’t matter where I go because I know prayer works even from “far away.”