I needed to make a phone call to my insurance company. It's a good thing I started calling early!

First came the busy signals--for an entire day! Next came a recorded message followed by music, occasionally interrupted by a voice that said, "Our lines are still busy. Please hold, or hang up and try again."

Finally I got through. Hooray! But this led to a complicated set of instructions: For policy information, press 1. For new coverage, press 2. To make a claim, press 3. To talk to an agent, press 4. I chose the last option. A recording said he was out of the office and told me to press the pound (#) key. The same voice gave me the same options again. I hung up.

About the same time, I had an urgent need to talk with the Lord. I didn't get a busy signal, nor was I put on hold. I knew that God was listening and that He cared deeply for me.

We don't always get immediate answers to our prayers, but because of the wonderful prayer promises in the Bible we know that we are heard. In Psalm 34, for example, David reviewed his prayers and the Lord's answers. Then he said, "The eyes of the Lord are on the righteous, and His ears are open to their cry" (v.15). Thank God that there is no such thing as a prayer runaround.  — David C. Egner