Jesus, 911!

In the beginning, God created the heavens and the earth.
– Jesus: 911
(Five-year-old Bria, attempting to quote Genesis 1:1)

While the thought of my granddaughter’s misquotation made me chuckle, I also couldn’t help but think, “Girl, that’ll preach!” 

Indeed, if little Bria can get that truth nestled deep in her heart, it will hold her through life’s challenges. 

Acknowledging God as the Creator of the world and everything in it is a fundamental truth of the Christian faith. And knowing Who to call in times of trouble is imperative, too.

Without question, “Jesus, 911!” is sometimes the most effective prayer we can pray.  

I’ve lost track of the times “God, help!” has been the equivalent of my prayer life. But I know that He heard me and answered. And sometimes, that help arrived in astoundingly miraculous ways. 

When my oldest daughter was a toddler, she came into the kitchen while I was frying bacon. Unaware of her presence, I proceeded to drain hot grease from the skillet into a bowl on the countertop. As I turned to replace the skillet on the stove, a painful scream rang out. Rebekah’s little fingers had stretched to tip the bowl, pouring the hot grease directly onto her face and chest. 

I snatched her up and immediately ran to the bathtub, where I plopped her beneath a stream of cold water. Watching her face blister before my eyes, I could only think to pray the words, “God, help!” repeatedly. My three-year-old son joined me in the chorus of our desperate prayer while Rebekah continued to wail. 

Looking at her red and blistery face, I was terrified to think of the damage done to her soft skin. I wrapped her in a blanket while tossing a coat at my son before bundling them both into the car and driving to my husband’s nearby job site. I assumed we would head to the emergency room from there. 

When my husband met us at the door, he found a distraught and sobbing wife holding his little girl in her arms. As I tearfully explained what had happened, I failed to look at Rebekah. I was too busy trying to convince my husband we needed to get help to notice the aid had already arrived.

My husband’s focus, however, had immediately turned to Rebekah. But his puzzlement was having a hard time overriding my hysteria. As I continued to sob and plead for him to help me, he had to raise his voice to get my attention. 

“Barb, look at her! She’s fine! Look at her! There’s nothing wrong with her!” 

When his words finally registered, I looked down at my now peaceful daughter. An unblemished, albeit exceedingly greasy, little face stared back at me. The redness and blisters were gone. Not one mark was left. Her soaking wet shirt and well-lubricated skin were the only signs indicating anything unusual had occurred.

God had heard my simple prayers. He listened to a mama’s desperate plea for help and answered with a miracle. 

Occasions like these convince me my granddaughter will be okay. If Bria believes in Jesus, she will always have a Helper at the ready. She will know where to turn in times of trouble and will be kept safe despite the turmoil of this world. 

Will she be free from pain and suffering? Most probably not. No matter how reluctant I may be to admit that.

But will she be kept regardless? Most definitely. 

Faith does that, you know. It keeps us through every stage of life. 

God did not promise us a life of ease. In John 16:33, Jesus Himself told us the opposite. He warned that we would have troubles on this side of eternity. But He also promised His overcoming presence would be with us. That we could take heart, knowing His grace would be enough to sustain us through the hardest of days. 

And that is my prayer for my granddaughter and the rest of my grandchildren. And for you, too.  

Not that God would remove all the pain. But that He would be known and realized, regardless of it. 

That He would hear our desperate cries of, “Jesus, 911!” and send His Spirit to settle deep. 

Whether deliverance comes in miraculous ways and removes the obstacles, or if His presence comes to walk with us through them, I pray that we take heart.

In a world questioning the very existence of God, I’m thankful my granddaughter knows the truth. That she believes He is the One who not only created the world but created her. And that she has the childlike faith that prays to Him for help. 

No wonder Jesus pointed to a child as being the wisest leader among the masses. 

We adults have much to learn about the simpleness of faith. 

Lesson #1: If you don’t know what to pray, start with “Jesus, 911!” 

I have told you these things, so that in Me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
– John 16:33