Even when we can’t see it, God is working In the wait. Waiting is an essential ingredient in the process of prayer. When we fail to see prayer as a process rather than a result, we become discouraged and frustrated and downright mad. It is during this time that many of us drop-out. We forget about the importance of prayer. We begin to think that God is not there. Prayer is useless. It is a waste of our time.
The Wait Refines Us
However, when we see waiting as part of God’s refining process in our lives, our perspective changes. We see waiting from a new point of view. We see that during the wait God is changing us and transforming us and making our desires be in line with His. Prayer removes us from our time-bound, earthly thinking, and helps us see things from a heavenly view.
- Read Hebrews 11:1, “Now faith is the assurance of things hoped for, the conviction of things not seen.”
- Read Romans 8:24, “For in this hope we were saved. Now hope that is seen is not hope. For who hopes for what he sees?”
- Read 2 Corinthians 4:18, “As we look not to the things that are seen but to the things that are unseen. For the things that are seen are transient, but the things that are unseen are eternal.”
- Read 2 Corinthians 5:7, “for we walk by faith, not by sight.”
God Works in the Wait
We can trust that when God brings waiting periods into our life, it is for our good. It may appear that God is holding back and hoarding His riches. Moreover, it may be tempting to think that we must convince God to let go of His resources and play nice. Possibly you view prayer as a means to pry riches out of God’s reluctant hands. When we start thinking God is stingy, mean, outdated, far away, reluctant, or apathetic…we should be alerted to go back to God’s Word. For starters, what we see in our earthly realm is only an appearance. It is not the whole truth. It doesn’t include what is happening in the heavenly realm. And secondly, we need to assure that our thinking is in line with the Word of God.
Listen to what God’s Word says. God lavishes on us the riches of His grace. Ephesians 1:7-8 says, “In him, we have redemption through his blood, the forgiveness of our trespasses, according to the riches of his grace, which he lavished upon us, in all wisdom and insight. He richly blesses all who call on Him. Romans 10:12, “For there is no distinction between Jew and Greek; for the same Lord is Lord of all, bestowing his riches on all who call on him.”
It pleases God to do you good. For indeed, God works in the wait. I’m going to say that again because I have a feeling this may not be settling well with some of you today. You may not believe this to be true…it pleases God to do you good.
It gives God great joy to give you every good thing. –sue a. allen