An Acceptable Time

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“But as for me, my prayer is to you, O LORD. At an acceptable time, O God, in the abundance of your steadfast love answer me in your saving faithfulness” (Psalm 69:13).

I saw a mother in the grocery line. Her small child hovered around her as we waited for our turn to check out. Common scene. The little girl tugged on her mother’s pant leg. The mother bent down and let the girl whisper in her ear. Then she stood and shook her head. “Not, now, honey. You have to wait.”  The little girl was at first satisfied, but her patience grew thin. The scene repeated twice more, each time the mother’s jaw became more set, her retort more firm. “I said, not now.”

I don’t know what the little girl wanted, but it was obviously not the right time to have it. The mother’s loving attention to her child’s pleas never diminished, but her responses became more stern.  She didn’t tell her child it was silly to want whatever she wished for, or to go away and leave her alone.  She simply told her the time was not right.

It made me wonder how often I hover around my Heavenly Father in prayer and do not accept His response that now is not the acceptable time. Like that mother, He doesn’t devaluate my request, He just firmly lets me know my timing is off.  And, like the child in the grocery line, I often don’t take “not now” for the answer.  I keep asking.

Deep down, I know God’s timing is perfect and that He has great plans for me. God has my best interests at heart.  He knows the desires of my heart. But, perhaps, like the mother, He also knows when is the acceptable time to address my requests. God will never tell me a request is stupid or wrong, or tell me to go away and stop bothering Him. He will listen each time and respond in love, even if the response is “No, not now.”

As His obedient child, if I trust Him enough to ask, knowing it is not something within my own power to get, then I must also accept His answer.  I must trust it is given in steadfast love and is the best answer at that time, in that situation.  I must trust in His faithfulness, and whisper, “Yes, Sir”.

TAKE THE NEXT STEP: Practicing patience when God has you waiting

Questions: Has God responded to your request? Do you trust He has responded in love, even if it is “No.”?

About the Author Julie Cosgrove

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