Thursday, June 23, 2011

Trust Him

Pray Continually. (NIV)

Keep on Praying. (NLT) -- 1 Thessalonians 5:17

Sometimes the only answer to prayer is … silence. We pray and pray and wait and wait. Where is He? Why has He left us? The silence echoes around us and we feel like orphans facing a hard world alone and afraid. Will He ever return? Will we ever hear His voice again?

He never leaves us, of course. It just feels like it. We want Him to bless our actions. We want Him to fix our lives. We want Him to avenge a wrong. We want Him to give us our heart’s desire. And, yet, He won’t even answer us when we call out to Him in prayer.

God is right there, closer than we could ever imagine. He would never leave us or forsake us. And, yes, He always answers our prayers. But He doesn’t always answer immediately. Or even next week or next month. The waiting is hard but it teaches us to trust.

Trust is a hard one for me. How about for you? I want to know exactly how things are going to turn out. I want to skip the worrying part and move right on to the miracle fix that I know God will provide. I know it. I really do. I just wish I could hear Him say it just so I could be sure. I’m like a small child pestering my Father to repeat His promises of good things ahead.

So I keep praying. And praying. And sometimes, when He answers, the answer is no. That’s hard. No healing. No miracle. No fulfilled dream. Just no. And it hurts. So I pray again and again. Why? Sometimes the answer to that question is that He has a plan and one day we’ll all understand. For now we trust that He knows what He’s doing.

Prayer is such a continual and strong part of my life. I hope it is part of yours as well. It is our opportunity to talk with our Father, our Creator, Our Savior. It can be about anything and everything, just like a conversation you would have with a dear friend. It can be light and happy. Or it can reveal deep hurts and secrets that you wouldn’t dare share with anyone else.

Trust God to hear you. Trust that His answer will come with perfect timing. And that it will reflect what’s best for you. God answers the prayers of His children with unconditional love. Hold on to that in the silence as you wait for Him to answer your prayers.