“As for me, far be it from me that I should sin against the LORD by failing to pray for you.”
1 Samuel 12:23
An important aspect of prayer is to pray patiently. God meets our needs “at the proper time” (Galatians 6:9). Too often Christians weary of praying, and give up. This is often justified on the basis that God's failure to answer means the request is not according to His will. Remember, God can:
- Deliver- whatever we ask in His name;
- Delay- to fit His perfect timing (only He sees the end from the beginning);
- Deny- and say ‘No’ because we ask amiss or give a
- Different and better answer.
Jesus urges us to be persistent in prayer (Luke 11:5-8). This does not mean that God does not want to meet our needs and that we need to try to persuade Him. It simply means that only God, who completely understands the whole situation, can know when and how to answer. Only when we have assurance in our hearts from the Lord, should we remove a matter from our prayer list.
