Were you waiting for it?

You didn't even notice did you?

Some of you still don't know what I am talking about, do you? Admit it!

I didn't send out the prayer journal on Monday-as I have been doing now since the beginning of February. I did it for a reason. I wanted you to "wait for it".

Because an important aspect of prayer is waiting. Think about Moses. No, think about the generation before Moses. The story of the Exodus tells us the nation of Israel cried out to God for deliverance (they were slaves under their harsh task-masters of Egypt). And the Bible tells us that God heard their cry. And God didn't ignore their hurt.

He raised-up a deliverer! Moses!!!! But it took a while for Moses to get into that position of deliverer, didn't it? I mean, if you had been living as a slave, forced to make bricks without straw, you would have been ready for the baby in the basket to lead you across the Red Sea. But Moses was not ready to draw them out of slavery. (Moses' name literally means to draw out).

And if not as a baby, then surely he was certainly ready in his prime to lead them out. Even Moses thought so. That's partly why he killed the abusing Egyptian and hid his body. He was ready to do something. But even then, God seems to "draw it out" longer. Moses goes on the lam.

He was forty. Still, his life purpose has not been drawn out of him.

Next he is a shepherd in a dessert. You would think it was time for him to get back to Egypt. People are still crying out. God is still hearing the heart-breaking prayers of His people. But apparently, Moses isn't a quick study. He is in the remedial school of the Sinai Desert for another forty years.

And finally God says, "now it is time-go". And Moses goes. (Reluctantly, sure, but he goes). And Moses finally draws them out of their prison of slavery and sets them on a course toward promise. And, oh yeah, it takes another 40 years to get them there.

This reminds me that one of the ways God answers our prayers is with the one word: "Slow". He wants us to wait. He wants us to trust His timing. He wants us to grow. Could God have orchestrated or more efficient and quick Exodus? Certainly. But God was more concerned with the right plan, at the right time, through the right man. And so God's answer to the prayers was simply, "SLOW".

It's not that God was drawing out the suffering. God was drawing out, the character of the one called. He was calling out the distinctiveness of His holy people.

What are you praying for in your life that God is answering with the word: Slow! He wants you to grow. He wants you to wait. He wants you to hunger for Him, and not just relief. Are you waiting for it? Sometimes God's answers do not fit our timetables. But God's answers are always right on time.

Pray for patience. Go ahead. I dare you! Might as well. Because God's answer to prayer is often: Slow! Wait for it. Wait for Him. Wait on the Lord.

Wait patiently for the Lord.
Be brave and courageous.
Yes, wait patiently for the Lord.

Psalm 27:14