Saint Paul Outside the Walls, Italy, 2011
“I heard, but I did not understand. So I asked, ‘My lord, what will the outcome of all this be?” Daniel 12:8
I once posted as my status on Facebook, “I had an answered prayer today that made my heart sing! Thank you, Lord!” What the prayer and the answer were is not important here. It is, however, important to know that the prayer was in answer to an ongoing prayer. While the answer to the prayer was much desired, it is also important to know that it is only a part of the entire prayer.
A long time ago, I learned that answers to my prayers don’t always come in my timing, but do come in His perfect timing. I also learned that they always do come. For years I have written daily in a prayer journal lifting up in prayer all of my family, friends, and special concerns. (This is not the same as “Journey Through The Stillness,” my spiritual journal that I share publicly on Facebook.) My daily prayer journal is a regular part of my prayer routine; it is prayer in written form. I have affectionately come to call it my ‘Book of Answered Prayer’ because, over the years, I have come to realize that all of my prayers are answered. They may not have been answered when, where, or how I expected or wished them to be, but every one, over time, was answered or resolved. The prayer journal is my witness! It has helped me learn to trust in the Lord, to trust completely in His ways, in His outcomes.
Another part of my prayer routine is reading in a daily devotional entitled, “God Calling” by A.J. Russell. This, too, I have read in faithfully for years. It speaks to my heart, and I have actually worn out several copies. One of my favorite devotions is May 1st, which reads as follows.
“Delay is but a wonderful and all-loving restraint of your Father -not reluctance, not desire to deny -but the Divine control of a Father who can scarcely brook the delay. Delay has to be -sometimes. Your lives are so linked up with those of others, so bound by circumstances that to let your desire have instant fulfillment might in many cases cause another, as earnest prayer, to go unanswered. But think for a moment of the Love and thoughtful care that seeks to harmonize and reconcile all your desires and longings and prayers. Delay is not denial -not even withholding. It is the opportunity for God to work out your problems and accomplish your desires in the most wonderful way possible for you.“
Knowing and believing, that He truly does not want to delay my happiness, helps me to have patience. Knowing there are times, when if He gave in to me and let me have my way, the earnest prayer or great need of someone else might not be fulfilled helps me to understand His delay. Rather than a denial, delay is His opportunity to work out all things for my good. It helps me know I can trust in His outcomes not only for myself, but all those I pray for.
“And we know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him, who have been called according to his purpose.” Romans 8:28
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