- Answer
Psalm 91:15a
He shall call upon me, and I will answer him:
The promise says: “If a person calls upon me, then I will answer him.” Several times throughout the Psalms the words “call” and “answer” are connected as cause and effect, as conditional promises. God would and could unconditionally answer us for He knows what we need before we ask Him, so we don’t technically need to ask, but that is not the way God wants to work in our lives. He commands us to ask, to call upon, to pray, even to beg before Him with the promise that He will answer (we will receive, find, and the door opened). He commands and promises; therefore we pray.
The activity “answer” is a response to something; “answer” does not exist in a vacuum. But more importantly, even though God may answer an anticipated but unspoken request He still wants us to talk to him, as well as listen, that is, as friends we both respond to the other. He wants us to be involved in His working in the world and His arranging affairs to come into line with His good and gracious will. God, as it were, condescends to let His people have a part in the running of temporal affairs to work together for good.
How can a believer neglect to call upon Him or refuse to pray when He has given us such a clear and definite promise (and many times over) to answer? Believing such a promise he should be running to the place and time of prayer and eagerly with enthusiasm calling upon the Lord, knowing with a surety that God answers. Prayer is an exciting time, stirring up jubilant anticipation, instead of boring drudgery. And then after the prayer time we wait expectantly in faith to see how God is going to answer our prayer. In this “pray without ceasing” lifestyle life is filled with exuberant expectancy for answers to come and joyful thanks to God for answers already received.