There is a country western song with this title that sounds good and feels good but it is not based on how actual life works. The first half of the title is true but the second half is not a given.

For God, It doesn’t matter how long it has been since you talked to him, he hears you when you pray. It doesn’t matter what you have done, where you have been and where you are now. It only matters that you call on him.

The gospel isn’t magic and you cannot snap your fingers and have all your problems go instantly away. There are certain sins that effect your heart and soul and there are sins that affect our external lives. Like for instant if you left the buggy in the parking lot at the grocery store instead of returning it to the corral or driving 56 miles per hour in a 55 miles per hour zone. These things can be forgiven and covered without usually having any repercussions. Now, if you go on social media and tell a blasphemous lie about someone else, this can take on a life of its own. Or, if you rob a bank at gun point, these missteps will take longer and will be much more expensive to repair.

There is a misconception that God will always catch you when you fall. Like the title of this blog, he hears you whenever and wherever you call but there is no promise he will catch you every time you fall. He says he will be with you but he doesn’t tell us he will catch us. Going back to the bank robbing example, you can call on him after you get caught and he will hear you and forgive you but you are still going to jail. I know that robbing a bank is a silly example but I use that silly example because talking about adultery, steeling, cheating, fornication, gluttony, lying, gossiping, tearing down another person, unforgiveness, greed etc. are all too deep to get into in a few paragraphs.

The point is, there is no where you can go in life or nothing you can ever do where he doesn’t hear you. You are his child and he loves you unconditionally. There are however things and situations we get ourselves into that is not a quick fix and can’t be repaired with a simple “please forgive me.”

Take my restaurant investments back in the late 80’s for example. Was investing in restaurants a sin? No. Was it a mistake? Yes. That mistake took me eight years and immeasurable financial heartache to get past. Was he with me while during the eight years? Absolutely, but he didn’t catch me and work some gospel magic that would wipe away the bad discussion. He did however give me his wisdom and patience and his blessing during the rough financial period.

So the song title should be, “hear me when I call” or “as often as I call he hears me.” KT