“Time flies.” And “time drags.” Whichever of the two you’re experiencing right now depends on what’s happening around you.
In prayer both can happen. An Old Testament king, Hezekiah, prayed for healing. Before the prophet Isaiah could even leave the palace grounds, the answer came from the Lord that he would recover. On the other hand, the Apostle Paul prayed three times for his “thorn in the flesh” to be taken away. He waited. The “thorn” never was removed, but over time he learned to lean on God’s grace.
You may remember “The Parable of the Persistent Widow.” It speaks directly to those moments when you . . . . pray and it feels as though time slows to a crawl while you wait for God to respond. A widow was asking for justice after being wronged. She wanted nothing more than for the judge to do his job. But the judge didn’t do anything because he neither feared God nor cared what people thought (Luke 18:2). So what does she do? She keeps going back with the same request until it’s granted.
You can only take the details of a parable so far. God is not “unjust” like the judge. He’s not unfairly trying to withhold blessings from us because it’s a bother to him. But if we persist in pursuing what we need from flawed humans, why not with God who watches over us with eternal love?
God gives freely. God always has our well-being in mind. He who did not spare his own Son, but gave him up for us all—how will he not also, along with him, graciously give us all things? (Romans 8:32). God in love decided to send his Son for our forgiveness and salvation at no cost to us.
The widow was requesting something that was good and right – justice. Justice is part of God’s will. We persist in praying for what lines up with God’s will revealed in the Bible. And then we trust.
Keep on asking! Pray in faith. God will take care of it from there. And whatever he decides will be good. You can count on it.
Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. (Luke 18:1)