22nd July 2025

Put on Hold

(Hanna) Prayed to the Lord and wept in anguish.    

 1 Samuel 1:10

Today's Bible Reading: 1 Samuel 1:1-18.

We have all had it happen. You call a company office and are told by the person at the other end of the phone. “Can you hold?” a cheerful voice asks, and before you know it, you are hearing music. Every so often, a taped message assures you that your call will be answered; And You wait and wait. It can be very frustrating.

Sometimes, it seems that God puts us on hold. We pray and pray about a matter of extreme importance, but nothing seems to happen. Nothing!

I am sure that is how Hannah felt. She was asking God for a baby. Childlessness was a curse in her day. To make it worse, her husband’s other wife ridiculed her mercilessly. Hannah wanted desperately to give her husband a child. She prayed out of deep pain and bitterness. Yet year after year, she did not conceive.

How can we reconcile the apparent silence of God to our repeated prayers? Remember that God’s wisdom surpasses our own. What we are asking for might harm us. We cannot see the whole picture. Our timing is not God’s timing.

When God puts you “on hold,” do not grumble. You can entrust your most cherished longings and desires to Him, and then patiently wait for Him to answer.

Prayer: When I call out to You, O Lord, and wait for answers to my prayer, give me the patience that I need and help me sense Your love and care. In Jesus name, I ask. Amen