| “So I say to you, ask and keep on asking, and it will be given to you; seek and keep on seeking, and you will find; knock and keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who keeps on asking, receives; and he who keeps on seeking, finds; and to him who keeps on knocking, the door will be opened. Luke 11:9-10 It seems as though God is inviting us to nag Him. The scripture says to ask, seek and knock and the door will be opened to you, but it does not say how long that will take before God answers. How long are we supposed to keep on praying about something before we give up? An hour? A week? A year? Sometimes we ask and we see the immediate answer and there are times we are to keep on asking even if God is silent. We do everything we know to do, say everything we know say. We search our hearts for any sin, any hindrance to our prayer and still God is silent. Not a yes, no or even a not yet. Silent. How long should we continue? I’m still praying for some things after thirty-five years and the Lord has not answered yet. I’ve gone through different phases in my prayers. At first I prayed with child like faith. When I didn’t see the desired answer, I doubted. I doubted my faith. I reasoned, maybe I needed someone else to pray. I tried to bargain with God. Maybe if I fasted surely God would move but that didn’t work either. Then came the frustration and anger. Frustrated with myself. I must be doing something wrong. I would dig into scripture and find a truth that would apply. I would quote scripture, remind God of His promises. Still silence. You might think that after praying for something for so long my faith would be non-existent, but it has had the opposite effect. Along the way my faith has grown. My trust has expanded. The silence has caused me press in, to believe deeper, to hold more firmly onto Christ. There is the story of the woman with the issue of blood. She had been bleeding for twelve years. She sees Jesus and she says, if I just touch his clothes, I will be healed (Mark 5:24-34.) What stood between her and her healing was the crowd. She had to press through the crowd to get to Jesus. She had to have faith, be bold, relentless, and determined to reach Christ. She didn’t let what anybody thought of her stop her. She pressed in and through to Jesus. Only God knows how long is long enough. He’s God and I’m not. I can not control or manipulate Him. He sees everything, knows everything, I don’t. He invites us to reason with Him, but informs us our thoughts are not His thoughts nor ours ways His ways. He is the answer to every question, every hurt, and every need. Though the answer tarries, wait for it. God is always on time, never late or early. He will answer. He will keep His Word. Luke 11:9,10 Mark 5:24-34 Isaiah 1:18 Isaiah 55:8,9 Psalm 27:14 Are there things you have been praying for a long time too? I would be happy to agree with you in prayer. You can comment below or email at [email protected]. Rev. Denise Much |
