Which other Bible passages emphasize calling on God during difficult times? Drawing Strength from Lamentations 3:55 “I called on Your name, O LORD, out of the depths of the Pit.” — Lamentations 3:55 Echoes of the Cry in the Psalms • Psalm 18:6 — “In my distress I called upon the LORD; I cried to my God for help. From His temple He heard my voice, and my cry for His help reached His ears.” • Psalm 34:17 — “The righteous cry out, and the LORD hears; He delivers them from all their troubles.” • Psalm 50:15 — “Call upon Me in the day of trouble; I will deliver you, and you will honor Me.” • Psalm 55:16-17 — “But I call to God, and the LORD will save me. Evening and morning and at noon I cry out in distress, and He hears my voice.” • Psalm 86:7 — “In the day of my distress I call on You, because You answer me.” • Psalm 91:15 — “When he calls out to Me, I will answer him; I will be with him in trouble. I will deliver him and honor him.” • Psalm 107:6 — “Then they cried out to the LORD in their trouble, and He delivered them from their distress.” Deliverance Foreshadowed in the Prophets • Jonah 2:2 — “In my distress I called to the LORD, and He answered me. From the belly of Sheol I called for help, and You heard my voice.” • Isaiah 55:6 — “Seek the LORD while He may be found; call on Him while He is near.” • Jeremiah 33:3 — “Call to Me, and I will answer you, and show you great and unsearchable things you do not know.” • Joel 2:32 — “And everyone who calls on the name of the LORD will be saved; for on Mount Zion and in Jerusalem there will be deliverance, as the LORD has promised, among the remnant called by the LORD.” • Zechariah 13:9 — “They will call on My name, and I will answer them. I will say, ‘They are My people,’ and they will say, ‘The LORD is our God.’” National Crisis and Communal Repentance • 2 Chronicles 7:14 — “and if My people who are called by My name humble themselves and pray and seek My face and turn from their wicked ways, then I will hear from heaven, and will forgive their sin and heal their land.” The Invitation Carried into the New Testament • Acts 2:21 — “And everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.” • Romans 10:13 — “for, ‘Everyone who calls on the name of the Lord will be saved.’ ” • James 5:13 — “Is any one of you suffering? He should pray. Is anyone cheerful? He should sing praises.” • Hebrews 4:16 — “Therefore let us approach the throne of grace with confidence, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help us in our time of need.” Putting It All Together • Scripture presents a unified chorus: whether in a personal pit (Lamentations 3:55), a raging sea (Jonah 2), or a national calamity (2 Chronicles 7), God hears and responds to those who call on His name. • The pattern spans genres—Psalms, Prophets, Gospels, Epistles—affirming that the God who listened to Jeremiah’s cry still listens today. • Each passage not only urges us to call but promises a divine response: hearing, answering, delivering, saving. • The consistency of this theme underscores the reliability of God’s character and encourages unwavering confidence when difficulties press in. |
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