WHEN IT HAPPENS, IT IS GOING TO HAPPEN FAST

From the moment we pray in the will of God, it becomes a decided fact. “Your promises are backed by the honor of Your name. As soon as I pray, You answer me; You encourage me by giving me strength” (Psalm 38 2b-3 NLT). It is not the answer that’s in question. It is only the timing.

When it is not time yet, God is exceedingly slow. “Wait patiently for the LORD. Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the LORD” (Psalm 27:14 NLT).

“But you must not forget this one thing, dear friends: a day it’s like 1000 years to the Lord, and 1000 years is like a day. The Lord isn’t really being slow about His promise, as some people think. No, He is being patient for your sake. He does not want anyone to be destroyed, but wants everyone to repent. But the day of the Lord will come as unexpected as a thief” (2 Peter 3:8-10a).

When it is time, it will happen, and it will happen fast. “He sends out His orders to the world—how swiftly His word flies” (Psalm 147:15 NLT).

So what should we do? “O LORD, hear me as I pray; pay attention to my groaning. Listen to my cry for help, my King and my God, for I pray to but You. Listen to my voice in the morning, LORD. Each morning, I bring my request to You and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:2-3 NLT).

Pray! Pray every morning. Every day I sit outside on my front porch and bring my requests to God.

Then I wait. Sometimes I wait for a long time.

But I wait expectantly. It is a proactive waiting. It is a waiting that confidently knows that at any time, in a second, in the twinkling of an eye, the answer can and will suddenly appear. The next phone call can be the answer.

Like the father in the story of the prodigal, we should all be watching and waiting. And one day as we are watching and waiting it will happen. So he returned to his father. And while he was still a long way off, his father saw him coming” (Luke 15:20a NLT).