On Hold
“Go in peace, and the God of Israel grant your petition, which you have asked of Him.”
1 Samuel 1:17
Sometimes it can seem that God has put us on hold. We pray and pray about a matter of extreme importance, but nothing seems to happen.
In the Bible, Hannah was Barren, but she wanted to have a baby. For many years she prayed for the Lord to make this possible, but nothing. Perhaps Hannah felt that she had been put on hold. 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, neither can we 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. God did hear Hannah's prayer, and she did have a baby, a boy, and she named him Samuel, who as an adult was a great servant of God as the prophet Samuel.
Bible Reading
1 Samuel 1:1-20.
Prayer
Father God, help me in prayer to be persistent, faithful and patient. In Jesus name. Amen.
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