Word of Encouragement (2/25/2021)

We are reflecting on the reasons that God answers our prayers with “Wait!” Yesterday, we talked about His sovereignty over all and how His answer to our prayer must be “coordinated” with His sovereign rule over all the affairs of the world. Today, let’s bring this down to a more personal level and talk about what He wants to accomplish in us when He tells us to wait.

One reason that God makes us wait is to see how sincerely we want what we are praying for—actually, for us to see how much, or whether, we really want what we are praying for since He already knows the answer to that question as an omniscient God. If God is going to bring our hearts into conformity with His, He must deal with the deep and true desires of our hearts, not the superficial ones. The period of waiting will sift out the superficial ones: when God doesn’t answer them right away, we will stop praying for them or soon forget about them. But, if we sincerely desire something, we will persist in prayer until we have either yes or no from God, by which we will know what God’s will is regarding the particular desire of ours. It is when the deep desires of our hearts come directly into contact with God’s will can our hearts be conformed to God’s will in a meaningful way.

Another reason for the wait is for the maturing of our faith. It would be wonderful if all our prayers were answered right away. (But be careful what you wish for. I’m sure that, as you look back on your life, there have been many times when you were glad that God did not grant your wish. So, it is not necessarily a good thing that God should grant you what you happen to want at the moment!) If God answered our prayers right away, we may develop a childish faith (not the same as a childlike faith, which Jesus praised)—believing in God because He gives us whatever we want, whenever we want. But that would not be a mature faith. A mature faith is able to wait for God’s time rather than insisting on one’s schedule because it is focused not so much on what God gives as who God is. A mature face can even accept no for an answer and still be grateful (after the initial disappointment).

Waiting is one of the most difficult things about life. Waiting (long) for God’s answer can make us question God and His love for us. It can make us anxious and fearful about what our lives will be like if God said no. We can feel so unsettled and unable to focus on other things. Deep inside, we know we shouldn’t be this way because God is good and trustworthy—how can we doubt God’s love for us when He did not even spare His own Son for our salvation—“He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things” (Rom. 8:32)? But it is one thing to know this and another to actually trust God during the time of waiting. Do not be disappointed if you have a hard time trusting in the Lord. Our good God is still at work in us, able to use all our fears and anxieties and questions and doubts to mature us in faith and bring our hearts into greater conformity to His heart. When God eventually answers our prayers, we see how foolish it was to doubt God or question Him all along. And when God eventually makes it clear that His answer is no, He heals us of our disappointment and convinces us of His wisdom in saying no. Through all this, we grow in our confidence in Him and His goodness toward us. So, when God tells us to wait, let us do our best to patiently wait for the Lord and His timing, looking to the cross as the supreme and unmistakable expression of God’s love for us.