Keep believing!
Have you ever prayed for a situation in your life, then waited a long time for an answer, but never received it? Do you want to know why you still haven’t received a reply? Do you think that the problem will never be solved?
Sometimes, when we pray long and hard for a certain life situation, but do not receive an answer, then we put up with it, no longer hoping that God will ever answer our prayer. But God answers prayers, and He is working on an answer even when we don’t know all the details. And your situation can change suddenly and without warning!
But you can be sure of one thing: before God starts suddenly changing your life, you will have to wait. Waiting for a response is an inevitable reality. There is no getting away from this. So the question is not whether we will have to wait, but how we will wait. And I believe that the answer to the question how will determine the answer to the question how long.
You can wait in two ways: passively or actively. A passive person hopes for something good and sits back and waits for it. A little time passes, and he decides: “All right! I waited, but nothing happened.” An active person knows the goal and acts. He believes that the answer is about to come. And his faith is not idle, he expects a quick solution to the problem. Every morning he wakes up with the thought: “Today my problem will be solved.” Perhaps you have to wait a long time, but he waits, and the answer will surely come.
They say about a pregnant woman: “She is waiting for a child.” She carries a child inside her. She can’t see him, but she knows he’s there. As soon as she finds out that she is pregnant, she begins to plan and purchase everything necessary for her baby. She is actively preparing for the birth of a child, knowing that it is only a matter of time and is ready to wait as long as necessary.
So, waiting does not mean not acting. Having asked God for a solution to a problem, we must wait for an answer and firmly believe that He will definitely answer you. This is active waiting. Most often, the waiting time is the time of preparation for the answer. If God were to answer immediately, many of us would not be ready to receive what He is asking.
Sometimes the situations in which we find ourselves due to our own fault are so serious that it is difficult for us to wait for help even for an extra second. But even in such situations, continue to wait for God and rely on Him without losing faith. God will certainly come to your aid, and often not from the side from which you expect him.
The apostles Paul and Silas knew what waiting was. In the Bible we read the story of how they were attacked by an angry mob. They were beaten, thrown into prison, and chained so that they could not escape (see Acts 16). But God appeared at midnight. It would have been nice if he had appeared a little earlier, but neither Paul nor Silas began to complain – they sang and worshiped the Lord. They waited on God (see Acts 16:24).
“About midnight, Paul and Silas were praying and praising God, and the prisoners were listening to them. Suddenly there was a great earthquake, so that the foundations of the prison were shaken; immediately all the doors were opened, and everyone’s bonds were loosened” (Acts 16:25-26). God appeared suddenly!
When people, being in difficult circumstances, patiently wait for the Lord’s help, He comes suddenly. Never give up! Don’t stop believing! Don’t lose hope, keep waiting for an answer! Nothing is impossible for God, He will definitely help you!
Author: Joyce Mayer
