有個小學一年級的男孩撥打緊急求救電話，接線員接了電話，小男孩說：「我需要有人教我算數。」善良的接線員開始協助男孩，直到他聽見電話另一頭有人說：「強尼，你在做什麼？」強尼說他不會減法，以前媽媽教過他碰到困難時該怎麼做，所以他就照媽媽所說的撥打緊急求救電話。對強尼來說，他當下的需求確實是緊急事件。對於富有同情心的接線員來說，幫助這個小男孩寫作業就是首要之務。

當詩人大衛需要幫助時，他說：「上主啊，求祢讓我想到，我在世的年日多麼短暫，求祢讓我知道，我的日子有限，我的生命在飛逝」（詩篇39篇4節，新普及譯本），還說：「我的指望在乎祢！」（7節）因此他祈求上帝垂聽並回應他的「呼求」（12節）。頗耐人尋味的是大衛懇求上帝「寬容」他（13節）。雖然大衛沒有說他有何需求，但在聖經中，他總是表明上帝會永遠與他同在，垂聽並回應他的禱告。

我們能肯定上帝永不改變，這使我們得以面對自己善變的情緒，而且我們也可以確信，對這位永恆不變的上帝而言，任何需求都沒有大小之分。祂會顧念我們，並且垂聽、回應我們所有的祈求。

The first grader called the number for emergency dispatch. The 9-1-1 operator answered. “I need help,” said the boy. “I have to do take-aways.” The operator proceeded to assist, until he heard a woman enter the room and say, “Johnny, what are you doing?” Johnny explained that he couldn’t do his math homework, so he did exactly what his mother had taught him to do when he needed help. He called 9-1-1. To Johnny, his current need qualified as an emergency. To the compassionate listener, helping the young boy with his homework was top priority in that moment.

When the psalmist David needed help, he said, “Lord, remind me how brief my time on earth will be. Remind me that my days are numbered—how fleeting my life is” (Psalm 39:4 nlt). He said, “My hope is in” God (v. 7). So, he pleaded for Him to hear and answer his “cry for help” (v. 12). Then, strangely, he asked God to “look away from” him (v. 13). Though David’s needs remain unspoken, throughout Scripture he declared that God would always be with him, hearing and answering his prayers.

Our confidence in God’s constancy allows us to process our fickle feelings, while affirming there’s no request too big or too small for the unchanging One. He hears us, cares for us, and answers every prayer we utter.