Call for an Encore

Read

Jeremiah 33:3 “Call to me and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Think

There is something powerful about a crowd calling for more. If you’ve ever been to a concert when the music stops, and the lights flicker back on, you know the feeling. For a moment, it seems like the show is over. But then the crowd begins to rise, chanting, clapping, pleading with one voice: “Encore! One more song!”

That response is more than just hype. It’s hunger. It’s a belief that what they just experienced isn’t all there is. It’s the hope that the artist will return and deliver something even better. What if prayer worked the same way?

What if, instead of assuming the best moments were behind us, we started to believe that God was still willing to move? What if we saw prayer not as a quiet obligation, but as a bold call for more? Jeremiah 33:3 is not subtle. “Call to me,” God says. Not whisper. Not hint. Not hesitate. Call. There is urgency in it. There is boldness. There is faith.

This verse was not spoken during a time of comfort and peace. It was given to Jeremiah while he was confined, facing uncertainty. God's people were in exile. Nothing looked promising. From the outside, it would have made more sense to give up than to speak up. But God’s response to captivity was not silence. It was invitation. He said, “Call to me, and I will answer you and tell you great and unsearchable things you do not know.”

Not recycled answers. Not stale solutions. Great and unsearchable things. Things you haven’t seen before. Things you couldn’t predict or plan. Things that don’t come from you trying harder, but from you calling louder.

Many of us have quieted our prayers over time. Disappointment does that. You pray for healing, but the diagnosis stays. You pray for breakthrough, but the door remains closed. You ask for peace, but anxiety lingers. After a while, your prayer life can start to feel like a broken speaker. You talk, but nothing seems to come back. So you stop calling.

You settle into survival mode. You start to think that prayer is just a box to check. But Scripture never treats prayer like a ritual. It is always portrayed as a response to a living God who hears, cares, and acts. God is not waiting for you to say it perfectly. He is waiting for you to say it honestly.

To call is to cry out. It means admitting you don’t have the answers. It means leaning on God’s track record instead of your timeline. It means asking for help, not once, but again and again, until heaven responds.

Sometimes people think asking for an encore from God feels greedy. They believe they should just be grateful for what he already did. And yes, gratitude matters. But Scripture shows us a God who invites persistence. Jesus told a story about a widow who kept knocking on the judge’s door. Not because she was impolite, but because she was convinced the judge had the power to respond. Are you still knocking?

Some of us have stopped praying because we think our time has passed. We assume the miracle window has closed. We convince ourselves that maybe God does not do that kind of thing anymore. We look at other people’s stories and think we missed our moment.

But God’s power is not limited by age, status, or season. He is not bound by your calendar. He does not move on a timer. He moves when faith calls. What if your next miracle is not waiting on a better opportunity, but on a bolder ask?

“Call to me,” God says, “and I will answer you.” That is a promise. Not a possibility. Not a chance. A guarantee.

Now, that answer may not come in the package you expect. It may not look like your preferred timeline. But it will come. And when it does, it will be better than what you could imagine. It will be something you didn’t know. A grace you didn’t see coming.

That is the nature of an encore. It surprises. It over-delivers. It brings back the familiar power of God, but in a fresh and personal way.

Right now, you might be staring at a situation that feels like a dead end. You may be thinking it’s too late, too broken, or too far gone. But God’s word to you today is simple: call. Not because you’ve earned it. Not because you deserve it. But because he is good. Because he has more. Because he has not left the building.

If he answered Elijah’s 63-word prayer, he can handle your 3am cry. If he showed up for Samson in a prison cell, he can show up for you in your exhaustion. If he opened the Red Sea once, he can make a way again.

Don’t let fear keep you quiet. Don’t let disappointment close your mouth. Call. He hears you. And he is ready.

Apply

Set a timer for ten minutes today. Find a quiet space. Write down three things you want to ask God for—specifically, boldly, and with faith. Then spend those ten minutes calling on him, out loud if possible. Don’t filter. Don’t edit. Just ask.

Pray

God, remind me that you are still listening. I’ve stopped asking in some areas because I’ve been discouraged. But today, I’m calling again. Not because I am worthy, but because you are faithful. You’ve done it before. I’m asking you to do it again. In Jesus’ name. Amen.