If you haven’t had the chance to go on an African Safari, let me paint ya a little picture of what staying in a tent in the middle of the savanna is like!

Tented lodges have an emergency whistle you can blow incase of animal activity around your tent.  These lodges mean business. They won’t even let you walk yourself from your tent to the dining area after dark due to animals in the area. On my very first Safari, I came within five feet of a hyena. EEWW. GROSS. GO AWAY. You better believe I slept with the emergency whistle around my neck.

Last month, while my family was visiting me in TZ, we went on Safari.  Some in the group were a little worried about animals, but not me! I’ve done this before. I have looked a hyena in eye! I’ll be fine.

My mom and I were sharing a tent which was on the far outskirts of the camp. Again, I’ll be fine because I’ve done this before. Well, while I was brushing my teeth I heard footsteps outside our tent. I’m not kidding! There was something out there and I freaked out. BIG TIME. I started blowing that germ-covered whistle like there was no tomorrow (cause I was convinced I wouldn’t live to see the next morning’s sunrise) aaaaaaand no one came.

There my mom and I sat in the tent totally helpless.  We couldn’t go out to try and find help because whatever was out there would clearly eat us. We couldn’t just go to sleep with an unknown animal out there waiting to rip through the tent and bite our heads off.  So, I blew the whistle again and again. After 15 minutes of sitting in bed under the sheets blowing the whistle, “Emily, who does well under pressure,” came forth with the great idea to shine a flashlight out the tent window towards the rest of camp.  Praise the good Lord this caught someone’s attention! The guard came over to check out everything. He said whatever was there had been scared off by the whistle and to go to bed. HA! I didn’t sleep well that night.

Does that ever sound like your prayer life? Do you ever have the impression that you are blowing a whistle over and over and over again and God doesn’t come to your rescue? Do you feel like you are on the outskirts of camp and there is no way He can hear you? It doesn’t matter where you’ve set up camp, He hears you and He cares. There’s no whistle blowing nor flashlight shining. There’s just our hearts connecting with the creator of the universe through sincere belief and prayer.

Keep blowing your whistle. Keep praying. Keep calling out to God. Unlike the Massai guard who should have heard me blowing my whistle that evening but didn’t, God hears.  Always.