How quickly do you expect God to do what you pray for?

Good Friday is one of the most important days of the church year…when we remember Jesus’ death on the cross. Easter, of course, is another important day when we celebrate Jesus’ resurrection. But the Saturday in between?…

We wait.

Waiting isn’t easy.

Today, we expect to get everything fast.

• Amazon is shipping same-day now. Sometimes within hours.
• The new Boom Supersonic plane will eventually be flying people from New York to London in a little over 3.5 hrs flying at nearly 2x the speed of sound.
• In places with gigabit internet connections, you can download a 2hr HD movie in 25 seconds.

We want things fast.

When it takes too long, we tend to lose our patience. When I worked full-time in online marketing, the rule was that if a web page took longer than 5 seconds to load, people would start leaving. Now, a page is expected to load in about 1 second.

On the Saturday between Good Friday and Easter, we wait. In prayer, we often must wait, as well.

God isn’t Amazon or Boom Supersonic or an Internet provider. He doesn’t work on our timetable hoping to have a satisfied customer. He follows His own timing, knowing what we truly need, and we must wait.

I’ve spoken with people who told me that yesterday they prayed for xyz and God didn’t answer their prayer. God did answer their prayer, though. He always does. However, His answer may have been that they needed to wait.

Waiting is not easy, but it is for the best.

It reminds us that we are the created making requests of our creator. It also teaches us to trust God and His love and wisdom, both in how He answers our prayers and when He acts.

We know God’s will is good, His ways are wiser than ours, and He loves us. We can trust Him to always answer our prayers. We can also trust how and when He acts.

As for Micah, he was waiting for Israel to wake up to their evil ways and repent. He would be waiting decades and, ultimately, waiting over 700 years for the fulfillment of His salvation in Jesus Christ.

So, we can join Micah in saying that we will look to the Lord and wait for the God of our salvation, knowing He hears us and He will save us.

Heavenly Father,

It can be difficult to wait, but I know Your timing is better than mine. Help me to be patient and to wait on You.

Amen

As part of your devotion time, I encourage you to also pray for at least some of the following:

• Your family
• Your local church
• Your pastor
• Some of your fellow church members
• The people on your B.L.E.S.S. list
• Your country and her leaders
• Your community

After praying for these people, you may want to finish your devotion time with the Lord’s Prayer…

Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name. Thy kingdom come. They will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread and forgive us our trespasses as we forgive those who trespass against us. Lead us not into temptation but deliver us from evil. For Thine is the kingdom and the power, and the glory, forever and every. Amen.