Discover His heart: He sometimes waits to answer our prayers to make us stronger
There’s nothing I like more than when God says yes to my prayer. Bring out the brass band, serve the fried chicken and potato salad. It’s time to celebrate! When He says no to my prayer, I may have a low day or two or 30, but eventually, I accept His wisdom. When He says wait, I want to perhaps negotiate a deal, offer a bribe or, in my weakest moment, move forward on my own. Not good. I have come to understand when God says wait, it’s not because He wants to make me suffer, but it’s because He is perfecting me or my circumstance to answer my prayer according to His will. He always has a purpose in my waiting.
After 40 years traveling in the desert to make an 11-day journey, Israel was finally poised to enter the Promised Land. In Exodus, Leviticus, and Numbers, we’ve learned in our reading that God was perfecting His people, but it seems they were terribly slow learners. “Forty years after the Israelites left Egypt, on the first day of the eleventh month, Moses addressed the people of Israel, telling them everything the Lord had commanded him to say.” (1:3)
Moses began his instructions from the Lord with a brief history of their travels since they had left Mt. Sinai headed for Canaan. Because of the people’s negative response to the scouting reports by ten of the spies sent into Canaan, they would have to wait as a nation to receive the answer to the prayers that they had cried out in Egypt. Because of their hard hearts during their waiting period, only their descendants realized the answered prayer, except for Joshua and Caleb.
It seemed like every time the Israelites moved forward one step, they would retreat two steps, and, of course, it’s impossible to make any progress on a journey that way. As with Israel, it’s in the waiting period that we discover what we are made of. While we wait for our prayers to be answered by God, our choice is whether or not will we trust Him or murmur, complain and disobey like the Israelites did in the wilderness. The writer of Psalm 119 understood the challenge, “My eyes are straining to see your promises come true. When will you comfort me?” (82) No one has said it’s easy to wait for our answers to prayer, but do we really want to turn an 11 day waiting period into 40 years? Help!
It’s in the waiting period that we learn what God is made of. Through the history lesson of Moses, the Israelites learned that God was faithful, even when they were not. God was merciful even when they didn’t ask for mercy. God was loving even when they were unlovable. God was leading even when they didn’t want to follow. Even more important was that God revealed His glory to them throughout the entire journey whether they wanted to see it or not – a glorious pillar by night and by day. We are not alone while we wait! God is revealing Himself to us along the way.
It’s in the waiting period that we learn what we are made of. Will we trust Him regardless of the circumstances? As we wait for God’s answers, are we learning what He is made of? Do we see His glory leading us along or have we closed our eyes in discouragement? Ultimately, God may answer no as He did to Moses when he requested to enter Canaan; but regardless of the answer, it will be the perfect answer at the perfect time. After all, one day Moses’ journey would be to the eternal Promised Land. His final answer was yes. There’s nothing I like more than when God answers yes to a prayer in His timing and in His way.
Moving Forward: Some days I’m straining to see answered prayers, but in His perfecting and with His grace I sense His glory and receive His goodness as I wait. He can be trusted.
Tomorrow @ 2 Chronicles 21-24
Phyllis Benigas 