Your 100 Day Prayer: Day 36 – Worth the Wait

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. He lifted me out of the slimy pit, out of the mud and mire; he set my feet on a rock and gave me a firm place to stand.
-Psalm 40:1-2

I like the imagery in these verses. I can just imagine sloshing all around in the mud and mire of daily living, praying for help to stand up before I drown, and then, when God is ready, he lifts me up and places me on a solid rock on which to stand and gain strength. However, I do struggle imagining that “I waited patiently for the Lord.” Pastor John tells us God is worth waiting for. He goes on to say….

“…God often chooses to be slow. He’s slow to anger and we’re glad for that. He’s not always quick to fix our problem for us because it’s in the waiting that our faith grows—it stretches in that interim period between our prayer for deliverance and our rescue. And it’s probably the norm for God to wait a good amount of time to do what we ask of him, because he likes to use time to do it. God created time (history), he likes time, and his plans require time to work out the way he wants. This is one of the leading themes of the Bible. God uses history as the main arena of salvation.”

TODAY’S PRAYER: Are you beginning to think that nothing is ever going to change? That God isn’t interested in your prayer? It’s only an illusion. Don’t give in to it. Keep presenting your needs with boldness and confidence. And thank God for the answer that’s on the way.

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Photo by Flo via Flickr