I imagine like me, you have prayed for God to move, to change your circumstances, to right a wrong, to heal a pain that will not leave. The list goes on and on. Many of you have faithfully prayed for an answer to a prayer for weeks, months, years, maybe even decades, only to have your prayers met with silence. I get it, I’ve been there many times. And yet ask yourself, for each prayer that an answer will lead to a change, are you ready? Change will happen from an answer, from no answer, and even during the waiting, God can allow for a bigger change in YOU!
I’m sure I am not alone when I say I do NOT like to wait. Who really does? We live in a culture who has microwave instructions on a Pop Tart box in case we can’t wait the minute to toast them. We are in a culture that bombards our senses with constant flashing change before our eyes and minds. Last year I found out that when creating our vodcast thumbnails, we only had 1.8 seconds in a grid of 6 thumbnails to grab someone’s eye and make them want to click on ours over the other 5. I would venture to say that it is quicker than that now.
We live in an ever changing, high-paced, world that can seem at times like it is flying by. So how do our minds reconcile this reality with the abrupt halt of waiting for something so important as our requests to God? It’s hard when we want answers, or our desires, and we want them now. And it can at times leave us feeling disillusioned and disparaged. But here’s the good news! The Bible is full of HOPE, strength and examples of so many men and women who chose to meet those times of waiting with quiet faith. Those like Simeon and Anna who spent their lives praying that they would not die before seeing their salvation, the Messiah.
If you have read the accounts of the Old Testament, you will see that it is full of people who prayed for that very thing and yet, they did not see it. For them it was not God’s timing. So, what do you do if what you have been praying for is just not in God’s timing? At least up to this point? Simeon and Anna were both very old. They had been praying to see God’s glory, His salvation. It didn’t happen when they first started praying and requesting. It didn’t even happen after a few years of praying. But in His time, God made sure that both of them were there at the right time in the right place to witness His answer.
If you are like me it would have to be God. My luck would have had me in the restroom, getting a drink, or talking with someone on the opposite side of the temple when Mary and Joseph brought their young son to the temple. Only God allowed all to be fulfilled and nudge both of these prayer warriors to be right there at that moment.
But here is the catch, because their prayer life was so deep, they had developed a relationship with God so when he spoke, they heard, and when he nudged, they obeyed. When you have a faith and patience to trust and wait on God you will be rewarded when he answers. But you have to prepare yourself for change. A change that will be radical, a change that will bring about a New You. Are you ready? Are you excited?
God has so much in store for you, whether it is in a new beginning, a new relationship, an exciting time of digging deeper and connecting with our creator on a whole new level. One that ultimately will allow each of us to see His salvation through a relationship with his son Jesus Christ. Now that’s a change we can believe in!
