Is it time?

As soon as I pray, you answer me; you encourage me by giving me strength. (Psalm 138:3 NLT)

Does it seem to you that 'as soon as you pray' is really a bit longer than 'as soon' as you pray? I have left prayers at the altar for quite some time, not really seeing the answer to those prayers. The thing I need to remember is that "with the Lord a day is like a thousand years, and a thousand years are like a day” (2 Peter 3:8). Could it be possible that my timing is really being measured by my time and not his? If God says he answers as soon as we pray - he does!

If we are honest, we have set expectations as to 'when' and 'how' we want God to answer. The things set in motion when we pray may not be seen, though. We may not understand the 'how' because we don't understand the mysteries of the heavens. We may not appreciate the 'when' because we are judging God by our view of time and not his. Did you ever stop to consider that the strength to continue to pray (something he commands us to do anyway) is part of the answer to our prayer?

The encouragement we need to pray again and again for what seems like the same thing is a 'God thing' - he gives us that urge to pray and the strength to continue on in our praying until one day those prayers are fully answered. It might be hard to understand the 'immediacy' of God's answer if we don't see the 'immediacy' of his answer, though. Regardless of the 'timing' of that answer, he has already answered. It could be we won't see the answer here on this earth, but in the heavenly realms, it is already worked out.

Just because we don't see the 'immediate' answer, does that mean we stop praying? Absolutely not! It means we wait, listen intently, revisit those prayers as often as we are prompted to, and then we wait and listen some more. Those are two things I am not the best at - waiting and listening. I have learned to listen a lot better than I used to and I even wait a bit better now. I don't like to wait, though! It takes a lot of effort sometimes to listen, too. There are a whole lot of distractions vying for my attention when he is trying to speak to me in prayer and I bet it is the same for you.

As soon as we pray - he answers. We can hold onto that truth, for NOTHING written in the Word of God is null and void. If he promises to listen, he hears us. If he promises to answer, he begins to answer even before we are prompted to ask. We must hold to that truth - we must not waver in our commitment to pray, listen, and wait. His timing is not ours - one day for him is a thousand years for us, so that means a minute could be a lot longer than a 'human' minute! Just sayin...