The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth.
Near is a small word doing a lot of work here. Not "available if you schedule an appointment," not "eventually responsive" — near, as in close by, already in range before you finish the sentence. That's a bigger claim than it sounds, especially if your experience of anything sacred has felt distant and formal.
The qualifier matters too: to all who call on him in truth. Not to people performing the right words, not to the polished or the certain — to anyone who's actually being honest, whatever that honesty looks like. Truth here seems to mean genuine rather than impressive.
If you've never called out to God because it felt fake, or like you'd have to pretend to be more convinced than you are, this verse suggests the opposite: honesty is the actual qualification, not confidence.
If you've held back from calling out because you didn't feel convinced enough, it's worth noticing this verse asks for honesty, not certainty.
A short video on this is coming soon — for now, read on.