A youth leader once told me God always answers our prayers, sometimes with a Yes, sometimes a No, sometimes Wait. When I am in prayer, I remember these may be the options God chooses for each prayer. It is reassuring that God always answers. I can handle the Yes and No answers. I know that my ways are not always God’s ways. I offer the petitions of my heart as the Bible instructs, but admittedly I don’t get exactly what I want every time-which is probably a good thing. It’s the Wait answers that make me feel like a kid waiting for vacation. I don’t always know what to expect or what will be the best and worst of what is to come, but if we could hurry up and get there it would help.
I try to remember in my impatience that sometimes the Wait answer is because God isn’t finished bringing those prayers to their fullness. Giving God time and space from our desires and expectations is what makes God’s timing perfect. It is in the fullness of God’s work that we are truly blessed to be people who will live by his faithfulness. (verse 2:4)
God, your timing is perfect and we acknowledge that ours in not. Thank you for the gifts of peace and patience to help us remember to wait. Amen. — KNM