How Difficult Waiting Is..

                  No one likes to wait for an answer. Yet oftentimes our the answers to our prayers can take some time. We forget that much of our prayer requests are like seeds sown into the ground which must have time in order to grow.  

                  While faith on its own is most pleasing to God, when paired up with a few attributes, it gains strength. Faith gets tested when it doesn’t see the answer or the manifestation immediately. Waiting is actually a good thing. A delay is not the same thing as a denial. “No” is not the same as “not yet”. 

                  Delay is the test and the strength of faith because faith gathers momentum and strength in patience. Faith knows from the start that “whatever things you ask when you pray, believe that you receive them, and you will have them” (Mk 11:24). When faith walks with perseverance it turns into patience. 

                  Genuine faith must be free of unbelief and rest its whole weight on God’s promises, because it knows without a shadow of doubt that God will, as He promised. It can persevere because it keeps on believing till it gets the answer. It remains at rest. “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on you. Because he trusts in you” (Is 26:3).

                  We think we have faith, but we never know the strength of our faith until we’re tested. Faith cannot be head knowledge only. Many spiritual battles are lost in God’s “waiting room” because that’s where Satan is hard at work to cause us to doubt, waver and fear that the answer will not come. He tries to prove that God’s Word doesn’t work. But endurance is persistent faith. It is faith outlasting the devil. It is seeing the answer without looking back. We tend to pray for more faith, but it’s not always faith that we need more of, but the other attributes of faith; insistence, endurance, perseverance, patience and trust. 

                  When we understand how faith works, much like a seed planted in our heart, we can let it grow towards the promised blessings as it develops into the different stages of its growth. “First the seed, then the blade, then the corn” (Mk 4:28). All that takes time. 

                  But all throughout its morphing process, faith continues to reflect brightness in its expectancy, much like an expectant mother. She counts it done! The longer the wait, the larger the expectancy. Faith has that same expectant smile. 

                  If you are going to rejoice when you get the answer, why not start rejoicing NOW. You can start praising even in the waiting room. Praise has the power to speak the desired request into existence “as though they were” (Ro 4:17). That’s why it is important after we pray never to doubt, never to say, “oh well, it didn’t work”. You have to leave that seed in the ground for it to do its work, and trust the power of the seed to produce its fruit.

                  Many saints have spent time in God’s waiting room; Joseph (13 years), Abraham (100 years), Moses (40 years). God does not work on the same timetable as we do, but God does keep His promises. He staked His reputation on it.

                  Waiting is an essential part of faith. In the book of Hebrews it says, “All these obtained a good report through faith,” even though they didn’t get to actually see the promise (Heb 11:2). But because they never doubted that God would answer, they did receive the promise nonetheless. The key to persevering faith is to act as if the answer is already here while you wait. 

                  Faith is increased through patience. It is like in exercising, much like a muscle, it is nourished by sore trials. It’s the trial of your faith that works patience in you. “That the trial of your faith being more precious than gold, that you might obtain praise, honor and glory” (Ja 1:3; 1Pt 1:7). The Bible says, “He that wavers, let not that man think that he will receive anything of the Lord” (Heb 11:6).

                  Doubt has no place in faith because “without (unwavering) faith, it is impossible to please God”. Enduring faith shows God that you trust Him. Trust is a firm belief rooted in love and that is where God is most pleased, when we’re willing to trust Him. 

                  Trust is faith tested through patience. It is that inner conviction which transforms the substance of hope into the reality of possession. “Now faith is the substance of things hoped for, the evidence of things not seen (Heb 11:1). Mountains of difficulties, hindrances and doubts can be moved out of the way by trust’s persistent faith and virile perseverance. That’s when we see the manifestation of our requests. Remember what Jesus said to Thomas, “Because you have seen me, you have believed. But more blessed are those who have not seen, and have believed” (Jn 20:29).

Let’s COMMIT the following verses to meditation and ACTION.

Ro 12:12 Rejoicing in hope, patient in tribulation, continuing steadfastly in prayer.

Ps 31:15 My times are in Your hand; Deliver me from the hand of my enemies, and from those who persecute me.

Ps 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in His Word I do hope.

Gal 6:9 And let us not grow weary while doing good, for in due season we shall reap if we do not lose heart.

Ps 27:14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Ps 30:5b Weeping may endure for a night, but joy comes in the morning.

Mt 24:13 But he who endures to the end shall be saved.

Ro 8:24 For we were saved in this hope, but hope that is seen is not hope; for why does one still hope for what he sees? But if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with perseverance. Likewise the Spirit also helps in our weaknesses. 

Ro 5:2-4 Through whom we have gained access by faith into this grace in which we now stand. And we boast in the hope of the glory of God. Not only so, but we also glory in our sufferings, because we know that suffering produces perseverance; perseverance, character; and character, hope.

Ecc 7:8 The end of a thing is better than its beginning; The patient in spirit is better than the proud in spirit.

Ps 18:30 As for God, His way is perfect; The word of the Lord is proven; He is a shield to all who trust in Him.

Ps 27:14 Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart; Wait, I say, on the Lord!

Jam 5:7-8 Therefore be patient, brethren, until the coming of the Lord. See how the farmer waits for the precious fruit of the earth, waiting patiently for it until it receives the early and latter rain. You also be patient. Establish your hearts, for the coming of the Lord]is at hand.

Ps 130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, And in His word I do hope.

Lam 3:24-26 The Lord is my portion,” says my soul, “Therefore I hope in Him!” The Lord is good to those who wait for Him, To the soul who seeks Him. It is good that one should hope and wait quietly For the salvation of the Lord.