About ten years ago, I was going through a tough time at work. I was praying to God asking Him to change something, because I was tired and bored with the job I was doing and I wanted Him to change something, anything. I needed something different. But nothing was happening, so I asked God why He didn’t answer my prayers.
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Then one day I was watching an episode of the series “Touched by an Angel” when the character Monica, who was an angel at that TV show, said this to her assignment:
“Every prayer is answered. But sometimes the answer is ‘no’. And sometimes the answer is ‘not yet'”.
Not in my wildest dreams I would have expected God to talk to me through a TV angel! But I got it. The moment she said the words I realized, without a doubt, that the answer to my prayer was ‘not yet’…
At that moment I realized that God does answer all prayers, I just didn’t “count” it unless the answer was “yes”.
And soon I realized that I have a really hard time handling the answer when it is “not yet”.
Sometimes it seems that a “no” would be easier to handle. “No” means move on, forget about it, that’s not gonna happen. “Not yet” means… well, not yet. It will happen eventually, but not now, and probably not soon. It means that I have to wait. And waiting is something that I have a lot of difficulty doing. Even if I don’t say it explicitly, God knows that deep inside I am anxiously counting the days.
It also means that I have to be patient and trust God’s timing. Yes, I know that His timing is perfect. But couldn’t it be a little faster, please? 🙂
So, as you can imagine, learning to be patient is something that God is frequently teaching me. When I think I’m getting better at it, the possibility of something big comes along and I can’t wait to see how it turns out.
And in case you were wondering, God granted the request I made about my work. He did it in two phases: (1) back in 2002 a manager from a different group at work came and invited me to join them. Now I see that it was a relief that would give me more time, more opportunities to grow and learn, so I could be ready for (2) the moment when He told me to finally quit my job.
If you think about it, it took 10 years for my petition to be granted. And I can tell you that God did it at the perfect moment and in the perfect way. As always.
As I learn more and more to wait on God, the verse 10 of Psalm 46 is a Scripture that I always remind myself when I feel anxious about something:
“Be still, and know that I am God”
Question for you: How about you, are you usually patient or do you have a hard time waiting for God’s time?
I have a strong prayer friend, much more consistent and patient than I am. However, her answers can be long-time down the road, but the results are amazing. For instance, Marge, who is about 4-1/2 years older than I am, which puts her in about 71, had been praying for the salvation of a high school friend, Bob, SINCE SCHOOL! They were “brother and sister” and cared about each other. However, he hadn’t come to the Lord. For 50 years she had been praying for him. He lived in Kansas and she was here; he was a trucker and if coming through, he’d contact her and she’d head out to see him at a truck stop area. [Her husband didn’t always understand how they could have remained friends for so long when Bob didn’t walk with the Lord.] A couple years ago, Bob was diagnosed with throat cancer and it caused his larynx to be removed. He went to the hospital here and stayed at their house while being kept for ongoing treatments. Less than a year ago, he came to the Lord. He’s struggling over many things that have happened: his wife died in early this year [she had been mentally and physically sick for years]; his job went away a couple months ago; he was staying at home in KS and remodeling, cleaning, etc., to keep busy, and last weekend a tornado blew the house down and it crashed on his car… no insurance on either one, so now he’s out of everything except his bit of social security monthly income. The fact that he had been prayed for for all those years, and he has come to the Lord, means that the Lord will be touching his heart and giving him hope in a way he could never have grasped it. He can’t talk, so he can text Marge when he needs advice, more time at the hospital, etc. I know this is too long, Cris, but it’s also an example of how the Lord can use the right time, right place to bring someone to Himself. Marge is faithful….and I count on her.
Glad you had such a good example of the Lord’s prayer answer and time as opposed to how long we expect prayers to be answered… such as, in my case, “RIGHT NOW!!!”
Jo, thank you for sharing Marge and Bob’s experience, I will be praying for them. I am sure that God will make wonders in their lives, we just have to wait and see.
Talking about waiting for long time promises, my mom has prayed for my father salvation ever since I can remember. He is a very good man, an awesome example, he believes in God, but he doesn’t see Jesus’ sacrifice and redemption as we do. So he doesn’t believe in the salvation that Jesus offer. So we pray that God will open his eyes so he can see the truth.
God bless you, Jo!