It’s easy to make a mistake when dialing a number. For instance, our old home number was 419.636.2577. Bryan Post Office is 419.636.2755. See the similarities? Frequently, we would get a call from someone thinking they had dialed the post office.
I ran across an article titled What Happens If You Accidently Dial 911? That baffled me. How do you “accidently” dial 911? It’s only three numbers. What other three numbers was a person trying to dial? 411 is directory assistance. Who dials that when they charge and Google will tell you for free? 611 is your cell phone provider. 811 is the “call before you dig” number. Those last two could have resulted in a slip of the finger and you hit the 9 instead of the 6 or 8. Still, I would think that was a rarity.
“As it turns out, 911 misdials are often the result of so-called “butt dials” (inadvertent calls owing to a phone being activated while in someone’s pocket), children dialing it without supervision, or triggering a phone’s emergency service shortcuts.”1
If you do dial 911 by mistake, don’t panic. And whatever you do, don’t hang up on the call. Dispatchers receiving that call can only assume someone is in trouble and you will probably get a visit from law enforcement. Instead, talk with the dispatcher who answers your call. Tell them what happened and assure them that all is well.
Are you going to get arrested or in trouble for an accidental 911 call? It’s highly unlikely!
However, if you prank call 911 and/or give a false report, most certainly you’re in trouble – and you should be! That is a foolish and dangerous game to be played, and first responders take that very seriously. Plus, it’s a waste of necessary resources.
With that said, the people on the other end of the 911 call are there to help. If there is an emergency — you see/smell smoke, see a fire, witnessed or been involved in an accident, you see a reckless driver, you need to report a crime, or are having a medical emergency – that’s when you dial 911. You don’t call 911 to get a weather or road report!
We know that we can call on God in any emergency, in a time of trouble. Many verses tell us to do this. The Psalmist writes, “And call upon me in the day of trouble: I will deliver thee, and thou shalt glorify me.” (Psalms 50:15) And Psalms 102:1-2 says, “Hear my prayer, O LORD, and let my cry come unto thee. (2) Hide not thy face from me in the day when I am in trouble; incline thine ear unto me: in the day when I call answer me speedily.”
However, unlike 9-1-1, we can call upon the Lord anytime for anything. In fact, 1 Thessalonians 5:17 says, “Pray without ceasing.” In other words, “Stay on the line!”
If I call 9-1-1, there is that moment of dialing where I’m not connected. I hear the ringing on the other end – maybe two or three rings. Still not connected. The dispatcher finally answers in a professional tone. I’m connected but there is no personal connection, friendliness, warmth, or intimacy with the dispatcher. When the call has ended, there is a disconnect of the call. The dispatcher has other calls and, quite honestly, a life that DOESN’T include me.
Walking with Jesus is totally different. Yes, I can call upon Him with every trouble and every need. But I’m already in His presence. I’m already “on the line.” We’ve been talking as the need arose and now, I just present it to Him.
Prayer is so much better and more effective than 9-1-1!
2 Corinthians 6:16 reminds us, “… for ye are the temple of the living God; as God hath said, I will dwell in them, and walk in them; and I will be their God, and they shall be my people.”
1https://www.mentalfloss.com/culture/public-services/what-happens-if-you-call-911-by-mistake
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