Rarely are our prayers answered instantly. And there are good reasons for this. Divine reasons. If we could see it from God’s perspective, we’d be grateful for the journey of waiting. But our first instinct is to see it from our own limited perspective. And this leads to disappointment.
Yet those who wait for the LORD / Will gain new strength; / They will mount up with wings like eagles, / They will run and not get tired, / They will walk and not become weary. (Isaiah 40:31 NASB)
When I was 17, one of my favorite rock stars performed in a small, nearby city. This was an opportunity I did not want to miss. Afraid that my parents would forbid it, a friend and I bought tickets and arranged transportation. I reasoned that if I had already spent my money for it, surely my parents wouldn’t stop me from going.
They did.
I cried. I cajoled. I explained that the tickets were not refundable, that my friend was allowed to go but only if she had a companion, and that I was mature enough now to handle a rock concert without getting into drugs or anything else bad that they thought might happen at the concert.
None of this mattered. The answer was still “NO.”
Although they were rightfully protecting me, I didn’t see it that way at the time. I felt old enough and mature enough and safe enough to go to a rock concert without an adult. It took me a long time to forgive them for that.
We do the same thing with God. Even when we get older and more mature, our hearts can get so fixated on a goal that sometimes we try to trick God into saying yes. Oh, we probably don’t think of it as tricking him. We know that this would be wrong. But if we assume that the only way to get what we want is to plan it ourselves, spend time and money on it, and then pray about it, we’re definitely trying to trick him (however unconscious this might be).
Have you ever prayed something like this after starting a new venture? “Oh Lord, look at the good this is doing already. You know this project is a blessing to others. But I need Your extra help now. I can’t see any reason why You wouldn’t want me to continue doing this, especially if You help me get it done.”—without asking him before you got started?
Day 8 on the journey includes:
- The Spiritual Success Principle
- The difference between hoping and wishing
- Abba never stops doing good for us
- Overcoming obstacles
- The good of waiting
© 2021 by Terry A. Modica
IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT!
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