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I’m not sure about you, but I really don’t like waiting for things to happen, and the older I get, the more this holds true. For example. I dislike waiting in lines or in traffic jams. I have a strong aversion to waiting for people to get back to me, and I especially don’t have the patience to wait for my coffee to brew first thing in the morning. Yes, please. I need prayer!
Speaking of prayer, have you ever repeatedly prayed for something to happen, and it simply does not come to fruition? At least not yet, I should mindfully add. If I’m being completely honest, I struggle with unanswered prayer, especially when God says things like this:
“Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you.” (Matthew 7:7 NLT)
God wants us to pray our heads off, well, not literally, of course. But still, he wants us to beat down heaven’s door with our prayers, to keep at it, to keep seeking and knocking until our knuckles are raw and sore. And then God says, “and the door will be opened to you.”
But what happens when the door remains closed and prayers go unanswered? What happens when everything goes the exact opposite of your prayers and your tears flow unchecked? How are we to cope when God remains quiet and our prayers seem to have not been heard? Let’s face it. Accepting God’s plan and timing when it’s contrary to our own agenda is challenging at best.
A dear friend of mine is waiting on God through years of prayer for the healing of a loved one. In fact, there are a legion of people joining in prayer for God to act and to deliver on His promises in Matthew 7:7 In these situations, waiting on God is tough when He seems inactive. Even through their heartache, my friend has the correct mindset and is blessed with wisdom worth sharing. She told me this after I mentioned how I struggle with waiting on God:
“I was asking God why healing hadn’t happened yet, and you know what His answer was? It isn’t yet His time. So, I asked God when His time would come, but I was told I needed to take a stand in faith because He wasn’t going to tell me. So here I am. I find that focusing on what God’s done in the past instead of stressing on what He hasn’t yet done is the secret. None of these things are outside of His will. Just outside of our timing. God is helping me to understand and to grow and to be patient.”
That’s a whoosh statement for me as I wait on God when it seems that my prayers are being ignored. I immediately hunted for a few scripture passages to bolster my faith and my resolve to wait on God.
“Wait patiently for the Lord. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.” (Psalms 27:14 NLT)
“I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;” (Psalms 130:5 ESV)
“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him.” (Psalms 62:5 NLT)
So, there you have it. Waiting quietly on God to heal and to act on our prayers requires faith, and courage and patience. Our hope is ALWAYS in Him, if we persevere through prayer. Now I think it’s time to make some coffee, and I promise to remain patient!
So, there you have it. Waiting quietly on God to heal and to act on our prayers requires faith, and courage, and patience. Our hope is ALWAYS in Him if we persevere through prayer. Now I think it’s time to make some coffee, and I promise to remain patient!
Paul Smyth
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