Is God silent in your life? What prayers has He not answered for you?
At a time of unanswered prayer in my life years ago, my mother taught me the verse to a hymn that I still quote when I am totally baffled by events that seem to careen out of the orbit of what I have asked:
Trust Him when dark doubts assail thee,
Trust Him when thy strength is small,
Trust Him when to simply trust Him,
Seems the hardest thing of all.
Is your focus on your immediate need blinding you to a greater purpose that God is working out? Would you choose to be patient and simply trust Him? Sometimes God does not answer our immediate prayer because He has something greater in store for us.
Throughout the Bible, we are given examples of those who waited and were blessed, as well as those who refused to wait and suffered the consequences. For instance:
Abraham had to wait for the birth of Isaac; he grew so impatient, he tried to help God out and had Ishmael instead. His impatience delayed God’s blessing for another fourteen years and produced turmoil that exists to this day.
Joshua had to wait seven days as he obediently marched around Jericho before God rewarded his patience and brought the walls down.
David, an anointed king, waited fourteen years in exile before God rewarded his patience by placing him on the throne as the greatest king of Israel. From personal experience he testified, “I am still confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”
