I know it's in our nature to want God to answer our prayers NOW. Life is short. The clock is ticking. We've been conditioned for immediacy.
But we know that God's ways are not ours. For any number of reasons God's answer to prayer is "wait," often in the form of silence.
I just happened to be reading an article by Tony Campolo where he was sharing how ferevently Diterich Bonhoeffer was praying for the end of the Jewish Holocaust. That travesty couldn't end soon enough yet the desperate prayers of thousands went unanswered for years. Most likely the answer to "Why?" will have to wait until the other side of death.
Contrast that with the story in this chapter of a wife who prayed for her husband to find a job, who ended up with two offers after fasting on Day 40 of NCC's 40 day prayer challenge. Forty days may seem like forever in our drive-through culture but is awfully short in the grand scheme of prayer!
But the call in all this is not to over analyze but to keep praying. I love that Mark Batterson calls us to shift our payer focus from ASAP (as soon as possible) to ALAT (as long as it takes). By the way - where's the "I"?
We're back to perseverance and praying hard. Being desperate and passionate, BUT also not wearing ourselves out - DO NOT pray as if answered prayer depends on you. That is a weight to great to bear. If only I had more faith. If only I sweated more, prayed harder, were bolder, etc . . . remember It's God's business to answer prayer. Your job to step into the actions that will fulfill God's will.
Daniel's prayer was delayed. He was fortunate to be given an explanation of why.
We may not get an explanation, but we do not give up the habit of praying, of circling our biggest fears and greatest dreams.
Circle the Vine in your prayer time. Pray for God to add to our numbers so that we can have a greater impact on our community and world.
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