Why does God wait to answer our Prayers?

 Read Psalm 13. 

Jesus encouraged His disciples in Luke 18:1 that they “ought always to pray and not lose heart.”  Yet, the answers to our prayers do not always come immediately.  Waiting on God to work in us and in others can be an excruciating test of our faith. 

Four times in this short song, David asked, “How long?”  He had prayed, but after sometime he saw nothing happening.  As a result, he felt forgotten and distant from God.  All day his mind churned on his need, wearing him down; while his enemy seemed to become stronger. 

The turning point came when he made a choice to exercise his faith rather than his doubts.  His circumstances had not yet changed, but David did. 

1.     He remembered the past.

Many times before he had trusted God and God was always faithful.  Intentionally counting one’s blessings turns our hearts to thanksgiving rather than complaining about what we do not have. 

2.     He looked to the future.

He knew that sooner or later God would provide deliverance for him.  It would be on God’s timetable, not his.  Living in the hope of that coming answer to prayer turns our hearts to rejoicing. 

3.     He took action in the present.

He replaced the thoughts full of worry and anxiety with thanksgiving and rejoicing in the LORD.  As a result, he began to sing praises “because he has dealt bountifully with me.” 

Someone once said, “When we ask God to do something for us, He generally does something in us.”