Between the Prayer and the Answer

"Our soul waits for the Lord; he is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in him, because we trust in his holy name." Psalm 33:20-21 (ESV)

Who enjoys waiting? Not me.

We live in an impatient society. We want the immediate.

Even when it comes to prayer, we want immediate results, immediate guidance from God, immediate fulfillment of His promises. We don't want to wait! 

But what if that waiting process is our greatest opportunity for spiritual growth? What if waiting is God's plan for deepening our relationship with Him? What if it's in the waiting that we become more like Jesus?

I call the time between our prayers and the answer, the In-Between.

How long? Have you ever asked God that question? Maybe you didn't verbalize it, but you've wondered it. Maybe even agonized over it.

What if we approach the In-Between differently?

What if we...

• Keep seeking a closer relationship with God?
• Keep praying in faith, believing for the answer?
• Keep serving God and others?
• Keep trusting God to be faithful?

Psalm 62:5 (NLT) says:

"Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in Him."

Quietly...not anxiously, not grumbling and complaining, not doubting and discouraged, but quietly, with calm assurance that the answer will come. Knowing that God's timing is perfect and His will is what's best for us.

Let's flip the script and use waiting as an extended Quiet Time with God.

Deeper:

Isaiah 40:31        Lamentations 3:25        Psalm 27:14        Romans 12:12

Questions:
How do you usually handle times of waiting?

How do you think you will handle waiting differently in the future?

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