This week we are continuing with “God Is An On Time God! (Just Not Our Time);” we will be discussing the second and third reason why God wait to answer our “urgent” prayers – let’s begin. The second reason why God wait sometimes to answer our “urgent” prayer request is so our faith can be tested. James 1:2-4 says: "2-4 Consider it a sheer gift, friends, when tests and challenges come at you from all sides. You know that under pressure, your faith-life is forced into the open and shows its true colors. So don't try to get out of anything prematurely. Let it do its work so you become mature and well-developed, not deficient in any way." (www.biblegateway.com - Message Bible)
That “urgent” need is a trying of our faith. The test is not for God’s purpose, He already knows where we are, it’s for our purpose. I could not see clearly that I was not trusting in God for my financial needs until God allowed my false source to dry up; I immediately panicked at first. That’s when I realized, for years, I had thought I was trusting God to take care of me but I was not; I was trusting in that false source. Now, I am learning how to put my faith in God so I can really trust Him because you trust whatever your faith is in. If your faith is in people, you trust them; you look unto them for everything – they become your source and you leave God out. I used this example because that is what I did. I would run to people for everything – I thought everybody was my friend. I found out the hard way, everyone I met was not my friend; they saw the neediness in me and used me. Also, I did not know I was putting a curse on my own self.
In one of my Pastor, Bishop Gary L. Greer’s messages, he taught awhile back, he used the Scripture in Jeremiah 17:5 which states: “This is what the Lord says: ‘Cursed are those who put their trust in mere humans, who rely on human strength and turn their hearts away from the Lord” (www.biblegateway.com - NLT). Jeremiah 17:7 tells us what is going to happen when we put our trust in God: “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence” (www.biblegateway.com-NLT).
Therefore, when we put our trust in man and not God, we are cursing our own selves; and we wonder why we are not being blessed sometimes. Jeremiah 17:9 let us know no one knows what is in a man’s heart; but God: “The heart is the most deceitful of all things, and desperately wicked. Who really knows how bad it is?” (www.biblegateway.com-NLT)
The third reason why God wait sometimes to answer our “urgent” prayer request is to test our love for Him. Again, He already know how we feel, this is for our sake. God is asking you as He asked Peter, “Do you love Me?” Do you love God enough not to get upset with Him if that “thing” you are praying about dies before He answers? Once it does, will you say, “God You know best?” or will you say, “Why did You let this happen?” Especially if your “urgent” prayer request is for God to heal a love one; or if that “urgent” prayer request is to keep you from losing your home, car, or other material possessions. No matter what request we are believing God to answer, He knows what He is doing because He is in total control of our lives. God has us in the palm of His hand and nothing and no one will be able to pluck us out of His hand (John 10:28-29).
We get into trouble when we try to figure things out; when we lean to our own understanding instead of trusting God with ALL our hearts (Proverbs 3:5-8). We must allow God to work in us the way He sees fit. God wants to move one way but we expects Him to move another; let’s not be narrow minded – God has many, many, many ways that He can work things out for us. We give God permission to move in our lives as He sees fit but when He does, we try to tell Him how to move. Once we accept the will of God for our lives, we will not be disappointed when things don’t work out like we thought they should. We must put our lives in God’s hand, trust Him that He knows best for us, and rest in what He says and does.
God's Blessings,
Dr. Dorothy E. Hooks
