DELAYED ANSWERS TO PRAYER!

Most of us pray as David did: “In the day when I call answer me speedily” (Psalm 102:2). “I am in trouble: hear me speedily” (Psalm 69:17). The Hebrew word for speedily suggests “right now, hurry up, in the very hour I call on you, do it!” David was saying, “Lord, I put my trust in you—but please hurry!”

God is in no hurry. He doesn’t jump at our commands. In fact, at times you may wonder if he will ever answer. You cry out, weep, fast and hope—but days go by, weeks, months, even years, and you don’t receive even the slightest evidence that God is hearing you. First you question yourself: “Something must be blocking my prayers.” You become perplexed, and over time your attitude toward God becomes something like this: “Lord, what do I have to do to get this prayer answered? You promised in your Word to give me an answer, and I prayed in faith. How many tears must I shed?”

Why does God delay answers to sincere prayers? It certainly isn’t because he lacks power. And he is most willing for us to receive from him. No, the answer is found in this verse: “He spake a parable unto them…that men ought always to pray, and not to faint” (Luke 18:1).

The Greek word for lose heart, or faint in the King James Version, means “relax, become weak or weary in faith, give up the struggle, no longer wait for completion.” Galatians 6:9 says, “Let us not be weary in well-doing: for in due season we shall reap, if we faint not.” The Lord is seeking for a praying people who will not relax or grow weary of coming to him. These people will wait on the Lord, not giving up before his work is completed. And they will be found waiting when he brings the answer.