{"id":26419,"date":"2019-09-09T03:30:02","date_gmt":"2019-09-09T10:30:02","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/?p=26419"},"modified":"2019-09-06T12:25:25","modified_gmt":"2019-09-06T19:25:25","slug":"september-9-2019","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.lccredding.org\/church\/2019\/09\/09\/september-9-2019\/","title":{"rendered":"September 9, 2019"},"content":{"rendered":"
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“Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”\u00a0<\/em>Luke 18:1<\/p>\n

Delays<\/strong><\/h2>\n

Recently I’ve had conversations with some of you about the delay in seeing answers to some of our prayers.\u00a0It can be frustrating, disappointing, and can cause us to give up hope when we don’t see answers to the prayers we are lifting up to Him.<\/p>\n

When we petition God for things, He may say “yes.”\u00a0He may say “no.”\u00a0Or He may say “wait.” I think the answer we find the hardest to deal with is the waiting! We live in a time when everything is instantaneous.\u00a0We’re not used to waiting\u2014and we often don’t do it very well.<\/p>\n

We have been faithful in asking God for some things, for healings, for miracles. Many have prayed! We haven’t given up.\u00a0So why aren’t we seeing more of the answers we’re asking God for?\u00a0I certainly don’t have all the answers.\u00a0But there are a few things that have helped my heart in looking at this.<\/p>\n

I think one reason is we don’t see things from God’s perspective!\u00a0We see things through our “finite” eyes.\u00a0God sees the big picture.\u00a0He may already be answering our prayers, but we just can’t see it yet.\u00a0The delays aren’t because God doesn’t care, and they’re not because He can’t answer. The delays are for our good\u2014even if we can’t see or understand the delay.<\/p>\n

His timing is often different from ours, too.\u00a0There may be some important reasons why our prayers have not been answered yet.\u00a0God may be doing things in the interim.\u00a0He may be preparing for the answers.\u00a0He may even be planning to answer in a different way.<\/p>\n

It’s so important that we don’t allow our trust in God to be undermined through delay in the answers to our prayers.\u00a0The enemy would love that!\u00a0God is good and faithful!\u00a0He loves us, He cares, He suffers with us.\u00a0The circumstances don’t change who He is.<\/p>\n

I find it important to thank Him for things He IS doing! I’m surrounded by them.\u00a0I need to thank Him for those things while I wait for the answers to prayers that I’m still lifting up to Him.<\/p>\n

I hope someday that God can explain some of the delays to us…but I’m convinced that one of the things He is teaching me, and all of us, is perseverance.\u00a0In this day and age of everything being “instant,” we can forget what it means to persevere.\u00a0Perseverance is one of the ways of God that are found all through the Word. It’s an important character trait for us to have in our walk with the Lord.\u00a0Being willing to persevere in prayer, and in other ways, is often a test for us.<\/p>\n

I’d love to see the miracle answers that we’re praying for.\u00a0I’d love that encouragement for everyone who is praying.\u00a0But the delay is where our faith comes in.\u00a0I don’t understand the delays, but I trust our wonderful Lord.\u00a0He’s faithful.\u00a0He’s brought me through.\u00a0I’m ready for whatever He’s going to do.\u00a0I won’t stop praying now!<\/p>\n

\u201cFather, You are not upset with us for continuing to ask You for answers to our prayers.\u00a0You\u2019ve given us an open door to come to You with our petitions.\u00a0You love for us to ask.\u00a0You want us to persevere.\u00a0You have answers in store for us\u2014in Your perfect way and time. Amen.\u201d<\/em><\/p>\n<\/div>

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