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“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord” Psalm 27:14
If you were to take a moment to reflect on your personal prayer life, what would it look like? If you are like me, you have a lot of good intentions around prayer. Perhaps you are longing to pray more consistently and boldly — not hurriedly, but with a sense of urgency. We understand the importance of prayer and that we should be praying more regularly for one another — for our spouses, kids, teachers, church leaders, worldwide issues, and even for our enemies. After we pray, do we then wait and trust that our Creator will hear and answer us?
God always hears and answers our prayers … in His timing. Our pleas and appeals might seem to be the easy part, but what about the waiting and trusting in God’s answers to us? Could our lack of waiting and trust actually obstruct us from the desire to pray, impeding His blessings? Are we making way for God to answer us according to His will — unhurried, not of the flesh, and glorifying Him?
The waiting is an active part of our faith journey, one that requires strength, courage, and unwavering trust in God’s timing as we align our hearts with His will. Abraham waited 25 years for the birth of his son Isaac, after God’s promise. Moses waited 40 years to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, and Jesus waited 33 years before fulfilling His father’s will. We must learn to surrender our own timelines and requests for hopes of a smoother, easier, and more uninterrupted life. Rather, we trust that our Father knows what is best for each of us, in accordance with His plans.
Ponder for a moment God’s answer as a distressed Jesus prayed to His Father in the Garden of Gethsemane, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will.” (Matthew 26:39). God’s answer was no, and not yet; God would remove Jesus’ suffering, but only after Jesus drank the cup given to Him. He later said yes by resurrecting Him! We are unable to view ourselves or see in the moment as our Creator does. He has the divine perspective we do not have that is beyond our understanding, but let us rest in the assurance that His timing is always perfect — working all things together for our good (Romans 8:28). Our circumstances and sufferings are stepping stones into our spiritual maturity, increasing and deepening our trust in Him. Life can be hard, but God is always good; we must not confuse the two as we continue to pray to Him, wait for Him, and trust in Him alone.
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