THE THING YOU NEVER WANT TO PRAY FOR

Frustration, hopelessness, aggravation, lack of faith and trust are just a few of the emotions that I go through when I’m wanting and waiting for an answer to my prayers. How many of you have been there with me? There are times when I want to be like a 3rd grader in school and slip a note to the Lord that says, “do you hear me, circle YES or NO.”

Waiting for an answer, or even an acknowledgment can be excruciating. Even as a 3rd grader, I hated waiting for the note I had passed over to a classmate to come back with an answer. I remember telling a friend once that I wished I had more patience, and she quickly responded with, “don’t ever pray for patience. The Lord will make you wait forever for an answer.”

Romans 8:25

²⁵ But if we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.

In Romans, it is pretty clear that we still have to have hope for what we have asked for, and then we also have to WAIT, and we are supposed to do that patiently. So, what does patiently waiting look like? Does it look like pacing the floor, or looking in the mailbox several times a day? If my friend is correct in her analogy, the less patient you are in waiting, the longer the Lord might make you wait. He is working on something that needs correcting, and for me, patience is an issue.

Galatians 6:9

⁹ Let us not become weary in doing good, for at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up.

Growing weary, or frustrated in waiting for an answer is a real danger for me. When I haven’t gotten an answer, or I don’t see the Lord’s hand even moving, then I start to give up. I throw up my hands and figure that the Lord didn’t hear me even though I have repeated my prayers over and over. Even worse, maybe He heard me, but my request wasn’t worthy of an answer.

The Lord promises I will reap a harvest, but at HIS proper time, not mine. Sometimes I need to modify my request. As that 3rd grader, I might have prayed to marry Donnie Osmond or Davy Cassidy. The Lord might have given me an eye roll with that request, but I was too young to know that my prayer should have been modified. Instead of praying for Donnie or Davy, I should have been praying for the Lord to lead me to a good man who would love and care for me.

Psalms 37:7

⁷ Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.

Don’t you love how the Lord has an answer for everything? He says to BE STILL, and there is a reason that He says that. He knows that waiting is hard, and He encourages us to simply wait. What ends up happening is I try to take matters into my own hands, and that is never a good idea. Because of my meddling, I usually mess things up worse until I finally have no choice but to wait.

Exodus 14:14

¹⁴ The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.”

I never was much of a fighter, so letting the Lord fight for me sounds good. I’m not going to pray for patience, but learning to be still doesn’t sound like a bad idea. If I can’t fix the problem, then I’m giving it to the Lord and I’ll just sit here and relax while the Lord handles everything.

To God Goes The Glory!

Have A Blessed Day!