Ryan's Ramblings

Call Out to Jesus

“The LORD is near to all who call on him.” (Psalm 145:18, NIV)

I’ll never forget the day Becca broke her arm.

We were at the elementary school playground near our house. She was in first grade—full of energy and confidence—climbing on the monkey bars and calling out, “Watch this, Daddy!” I was close by, watching and “oohing” and “aahing.”

Then it happened.

Becca slipped off the bars and fell to the ground. Instinctively, she put her hand out to break her fall and landed on her arm. As I ran toward her, she looked up and cried, “Daddy!” I can still hear her voice—shaky, scared, and full of pain. It pierced my heart.

I helped her immediately. I gently cradled her hurt arm in my hands and calmly told her that everything was going to be OK. I held her close as we walked home and assured her that her mom and I were going to take her to the doctor. Two hours later, Becca’s tears and pain were replaced with a good story and a fancy blue cast—and I was the first person to sign it.

“Daddy!” … I'll never forget the sound of her cry. Even before she called out to me, I was running to help—because I love her.

How much more does our Father in heaven love us

He longs for us to call out to Him—and a cry is all it takes. When it comes to prayer, God isn’t picky. He wants to hear from us and help us, because He loves and delights in us—just like a parent delights in their child.

The instinct to cry out to God isn’t just a child’s response on a playground—it has been a part of the human story since Genesis.

“To Seth also a son was born, and he called his name Enosh. At that time people began to call upon the name of the LORD.” (Genesis 4:26, ESV)

To “call on the name of the Lord” means to cry out—to place your hope and trust in Him. This is the first moment in Scripture where people began to pray—really pray. And here’s what’s remarkable: Seth’s line leads all the way to Jesus.

Seth was Adam and Eve’s third son (remember the whole Cain and Abel situation?). And it was through his lineage—the one where people first began to call on the Lord—that God would one day send the Savior. Genesis 5 traces that line: from Seth to Noah, then to Abraham, David… and finally to Jesus (Luke 3:38).

Jesus is both the fulfillment of prayer and the one who makes it possible. Prayer began in His lineage—and through His life, death, and resurrection Jesus opened the way for all of us to call upon God freely, confidently, and without shame. There is no access to the Father apart from Him. He’s the reason our prayers are heard. He is the way to the One we cry out to.

When we pray—when we call on the name of the Lord—we’re not just speaking into the air. We’re stepping into a story that began in Genesis and finds its fulfillment in Jesus.

So don’t hold back. Whether it’s a shout of faith or a whisper of desperation—He hears you. And He’s already running toward you.

Call out to Jesus.