Ancient Words.

Living Prayer.

These companion notes are designed to help you continue the conversation with God beyond the episode.


These are some of the Scriptures we used to prepare and share in this episode. Click the triangle to see the passages.

קָרָא – “to call” pronounced qara

Genesis 4:26 – call on YHWH

26 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.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Genesis 3:8-9 – God calls to Adam

8 And they heard the sound of the Lord God walking in the garden in the cool of the day, and the man and his wife hid themselves from the presence of the Lord God among the trees of the garden. 9 But the Lord God called to the man and said to him, “Where are you?”

English Standard Version (ESV)

Exodus 3:1-5 – God calls to Moses


1Now Moses was keeping the flock of his father-in-law, Jethro, the priest of Midian, and he led his flock to the west side of the wilderness and came to Horeb, the mountain of God. 2 And the angel of the Lord appeared to him in a flame of fire out of the midst of a bush. He looked, and behold, the bush was burning, yet it was not consumed. 3 And Moses said, “I will turn aside to see this great sight, why the bush is not burned.” 4 When the Lord saw that he turned aside to see, God called to him out of the bush, “Moses, Moses!” And he said, “Here I am.”

English Standard Version (ESV)

Genesis 12:6-8 – Call to God in Worship

6 Abram passed through the land to the place at Shechem, to the oak[d] of Moreh. At that time the Canaanites were in the land. 7 Then the Lord appeared to Abram and said, “To your offspring I will give this land.” So he built there an altar to the Lord, who had appeared to him. 8 From there he moved to the hill country on the east of Bethel and pitched his tent, with Bethel on the west and Ai on the east. And there he built an altar to the Lord and called upon the name of the Lord.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Jeremiah 33:1-3 – Call to God in Prayer

1The word of the Lord came to Jeremiah a second time, while he was still shut up in the court of the guard: 2 “Thus says the Lord who made the earth, the Lord who formed it to establish it—the Lord is his name: 3 Call to me and I will answer you, and will tell you great and hidden things that you have not known.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Jonah 2:1-2 – The call and cry of Jonah

1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.

English Standard Version (ESV)

שַׁוְעָה – “to cry for help” pronounced shavah

Exodus 2:23-35 – Israel’s cry to God

23 During those many days the king of Egypt died, and the people of Israel groaned because of their slavery and cried out for help. Their cry for rescue from slavery came up to God. 24 And God heard their groaning, and God remembered his covenant with Abraham, with Isaac, and with Jacob. 25 God saw the people of Israel—and God knew.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Psalm 34:15-18 – God hears our cry

15The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
    and his ears toward their cry.
16 The face of the Lord is against those who do evil,
    to cut off the memory of them from the earth.
17 When the righteous cry for help, the Lord hears
    and delivers them out of all their troubles.
18 The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
    and saves the crushed in spirit.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Psalm 102:1-2 – A Psalm that is a cry to God


A Prayer of one afflicted, when he is faint and pours out his complaint before the Lord.

102 Hear my prayer, O Lord;
let my cry come to you!
2 Do not hide your face from me
    in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
    answer me speedily in the day when I call!

English Standard Version (ESV)

2 Samuel 22:1-7 – David’s Song of Deliverance

1 And David spoke to the Lord the words of this song on the day when the Lord delivered him from the hand of all his enemies, and from the hand of Saul. 2 He said,

“The Lord is my rock and my fortress and my deliverer,
3     my God, my rock, in whom I take refuge,
my shield, and the horn of my salvation,
    my stronghold and my refuge,
    my savior; you save me from violence.
4 I call upon the Lord, who is worthy to be praised,
    and I am saved from my enemies.

5 “For the waves of death encompassed me,
    the torrents of destruction assailed me;
6 the cords of Sheol entangled me;
    the snares of death confronted me.

7 “In my distress I called upon the Lord;
    to my God I called.
From his temple he heard my voice,
    and my cry came to his ears.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Jonah 2:1-2 – The call and cry of Jonah

1Then Jonah prayed to the Lord his God from the belly of the fish, 2 saying,

“I called out to the Lord, out of my distress,
    and he answered me;
out of the belly of Sheol I cried,
    and you heard my voice.

English Standard Version (ESV)

צָעַק– “to cry aloud, bellow” pronounced tsa’aq

Genesis 4:8-10 – The blood of Abel cries

8 Cain spoke to Abel his brother. And when they were in the field, Cain rose up against his brother Abel and killed him. 9 Then the Lord said to Cain, “Where is Abel your brother?” He said, “I do not know; am I my brother’s keeper?” 10 And the Lord said, “What have you done? The voice of your brother’s blood is crying to me from the ground.

English Standard Version (ESV)

Genesis 27:31-34 – Esau cries in agony

30 As soon as Isaac had finished blessing Jacob, when Jacob had scarcely gone out from the presence of Isaac his father, Esau his brother came in from his hunting. 31 He also prepared delicious food and brought it to his father. And he said to his father, “Let my father arise and eat of his son’s game, that you may bless me.” 32 His father Isaac said to him, “Who are you?” He answered, “I am your son, your firstborn, Esau.” 33 Then Isaac trembled very violently and said, “Who was it then that hunted game and brought it to me, and I ate it all before you came, and I have blessed him? Yes, and he shall be blessed.” 34 As soon as Esau heard the words of his father, he cried out with an exceedingly great and bitter cry and said to his father, “Bless me, even me also, O my father!”

English Standard Version (ESV)

Psalm 3:1-4 – David’s cry as he flees his son

A Psalm of David, when he fled from Absalom his son.

3 O Lord, how many are my foes!
    Many are rising against me;
2 many are saying of my soul,
    “There is no salvation for him in God.” Selah[a]

3 But you, O Lord, are a shield about me,
    my glory, and the lifter of my head.
4 I cried aloud to the Lord,
    and he answered me from his holy hill. 

English Standard Version (ESV)

1 Samuel 4:1-5 – The cry of an army

1Now Israel went out to battle against the Philistines. They encamped at Ebenezer, and the Philistines encamped at Aphek. 2 The Philistines drew up in line against Israel, and when the battle spread, Israel was defeated before the Philistines, who killed about four thousand men on the field of battle. 3 And when the people came to the camp, the elders of Israel said, “Why has the Lord defeated us today before the Philistines? Let us bring the ark of the covenant of the Lord here from Shiloh, that it[a] may come among us and save us from the power of our enemies.” 4 So the people sent to Shiloh and brought from there the ark of the covenant of the Lord of hosts, who is enthroned on the cherubim. And the two sons of Eli, Hophni and Phinehas, were there with the ark of the covenant of God.

5 As soon as the ark of the covenant of the Lord came into the camp, all Israel gave a mighty shout, so that the earth resounded.

English Standard Version (ESV), italics added

Psalm 118:5-7 – The call in distress

5 Out of my distress I called on the Lord;
    the Lord answered me and set me free.
6 The Lord is on my side; I will not fear.
    What can man do to me?
7 The Lord is on my side as my helper;
    I shall look in triumph on those who hate me.

English Standard Version (ESV), italics added

These are the books, articles, podcasts, and other resources referenced during this conversation.

Strong’s Lexicon on Bible Hub

There are many ways to access the Strong’s Lexicon or the Brown-Driver-Briggs Lexicon. One option we have found is on the website Bible Hub, which is free and user-friendly. You can access through the link above.

Read slowly through the Scriptures and think back to the conversation. Don’t rush to the “right” answer. What draws your heart?

What is the balance between the familiarity of calling to God and the reverence of worshipping Him? How do those ideas inform your prayers?


Consider

Look at the connection between these verbs and how they are found in Scripture. Many places use call, cry, and bellow/wail in the same passage (particularly in Psalms). Do you find you are able to pray to the Lord through each of these contexts?


Respond

Take time to think through your life of prayer. As you consider this, take time to define your prayers as you pray them. For example, “Lord, I am calling to you today…” or “My heart is crying loudly about this need” See if this gives you more confidence to pray honestly to God.


One simple invitation

Choose a Psalm or prayer listed in the Scripture section. Keep it open as you pray. Try to speak to God through the words of that Scripture. Take time to listen for His answer.

Notice how the message of your heart can be informed by the content of the Psalms.

We would love to hear what God. is teaching you through these conversations. Come and share your story, your questions, your reflections, and even your ideas for future episodes.

Email us at unpolishedprayer@gmail.com

If this conversation encouraged you, consider sharing this episode with someone who may be encouraged as well.


A Note About Our Resources

The resources shared on this page are intended to support the conversations on Unpolished Prayer and encourage continued growth in prayer and a deeper understanding of Scripture. While we carefully select resources we believe are faithful and helpful, we encourage every listener to test what they read and hear against the truth of God’s Word.

Scripture quotations are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © Crossway. Used by permission. All rights reserved.