His Timing Over Mine

 By: Grace Metzger

For everyone who asks receives,
and the one who seeks finds,
and to the one who knocks it
will be opened.
Matthew 7:8

As much as I hate to admit it, I am someone who will give up very easily. You might think that this flaw isn’t a big deal and so did, I until a couple of years ago. I never put much thought into how giving up could affect my relationship with God until I noticed the major affect it had on my life. Growing up I heard always had people telling me that if I asked God and believed that He healed me then I would be healed. However, that healing has not yet come. So I naturally, rather stupidly I might add, thought that because I asked for something and it never happened, that clearly it wasn’t in God’s plan. I gave up on asking for healing.

It took me years, and a lot of growing up, to realize that my prayers weren’t going unanswered or being denied, but rather I was wanting instant results without the wait. I assumed that because God wasn’t acting in my timing, that meant it wasn’t getting done. But God doesn’t live by my timing.  We live by His.

I wait for the Lord, my soul
waits, and in His word I hope,
Psalm 27:13

Giving up on my prayers was a lot easier than waiting. But after reading this verse I realized the key part in waiting that I was missing. I wasn’t putting my hope in His word. The Bible is a wonderful book that is loaded with pages upon pages of God's promises. Promises of healing, protection, and so much more. All we have to do is open His the Bible to read His words and we can find hope and peace throughout the pages. Why should we just give up easily on our prayers when God told us in Psalm 37:7 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him.”

God is calling us to trust in His timing, in His plans for our lives. All we have to do is be still before Him and have our hope rooted in His words. You might have some unanswered prayers in your life as well, because I am quite sure that this is not a rare feeling for us Christians, that you have been struggling with. Don’t lose hope! God is calling on you to trust Him. He has never failed and He never will.

 

Discussion questions:

1.)    What do you do when you feel like your prayers aren’t being answered?

2.)    Have you been struggling with giving up when things aren’t instant?