The Long Game

Are you still waiting on God to answer a prayer? If you are anything like me, you have an idea of how he can solve your problem, all worked out in your own head.

As I wait for my answer, and wait, and wait, I have seen God work in my heart and in my life. This work he’s done in me, wasn’t part of my plan or my prayer. With God, many times things are not as they seem and are not as simplistic as we think they are. There are layers and multiple agendas. God is most definitely working on my prayer request. He is also working on me while I wait and pray. He is probably working in others who’s lives touch this matter. It’s complicated. His thoughts are higher than mine. (Isaiah 55:8) He is working things out for a glorious result in many lives. My goal is a simple answer to prayer with a quick result. He, however, is in it for the long game. His answer to my prayer will have multiple layers and have touched many, by the time it’s done. I can see that in my own life already.

“Be still and know that I am God.” Psalm 46:10

I have a sign in my house with that verse written on it. It has helped sustain my faith. It reminds me that he is working in the waiting.

I just read the account of the birth of Moses in Exodus 2. His mother did everything she could think of to keep her son safe. It took a HUGE amount of faith and trust in God to put her son in that basket and let him go. I can imagine the immense pain her heart was in as she let him go, coupled with fear and hope, all at the same time. She was living in a hell on earth, where they were all slaves and the male children were being slaughtered. In the natural it was hard to see Gods plan, but he DID have a plan. The mother of Moses had no idea, nor could she have imagined such a plan! All the way back at his birth, God had a plan for Moses. That plan touched many lives. Moses wasn’t perfect. He even committed murder before he found his destiny with God. That should show us all that just because we make mistakes along the way, or circumstances get worse, it doesn’t mean the story has to end there. There is a line in the song “The Fathers House” by Cory Asbury that says, “Failure is never final, when The Father’s in the room.” I love that!!! The point I’m trying to make here is when we pray about something, we need to not look at the circumstances, but trust that God is working, even if it takes a long time or things take a turn for the worse. God is working the long game. Sometimes it’s not simple and it can take time. It’s not always just about the one person or part of the puzzle we are focused on. God will not waste anything. If we are seeking him and reading his Word, he will teach us and mature our faith while we wait and pray.

“I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world.” John 16:33

If you are waiting on an answer to your prayer, don’t give up.

“Our unbelief is always wanting some outward sign. The religion of many is largely sensational, and they are not satisfied of its genuineness without manifestations, etc.; but the greatest triumph of faith is to be still and know that he is God.” A. B. Simpson Streams in the Desert December 7

“Ye shall not see wind, neither shall you see rain; Yet that valley shall be filled with water, that you may drink….” 2 Kings 3:16

He’s in the waiting.