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Weary of Waiting? – Denise Loock
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Weary of Waiting?

This is what the LORD Almighty says: All this may seem impossible to you now, a small and discouraged remnant of God’s people. But do you think this is impossible for me, the LORD Almighty? Zechariah 8:6 (NLT)

I looked at the list of prayer concerns written on the 3×5 card and released a sigh of frustration. I’d been praying about some of the situations for months . . . years . . . decades. Why don’t I see any progress, Lord? I wondered.

Across the top of the card, I’d written Zechariah 8:6. I knew the answer to God’s question. Of course nothing is impossible for Him. He is the LORD Almighty, Jehovah Sabaoth, the Commander of Heaven’s Angel Armies. His power is unlimited. I didn’t doubt God’s ability to answer my prayers, but His delay chaffed me. The fabric of my faith had worn thin—too fragile to protect my spiritual skin from the irritation of His apparent inactivity.

So I whined a bit in my prayer that morning and admitted my discouragement: “I’m tired of praying about these things, Lord.” But even as I whispered those words, guilt pricked me. You don’t doubt His power. Why do you doubt His timing? That’s when the Holy Spirit seemed to say to me, “What do you think faith is, Denise?”

I read Zechariah 8:6 again. One phrase stood out—“this may seem impossible.” What seems to be true and what is true are often opposites. The people to whom Zechariah spoke, thought God had forsaken them. But He hadn’t. God asked them to trust His goodness, His wisdom, and His power by focusing on what they knew was true about Him.

He asks me to do the same thing. For some reason it’s easier for me to say, “I know He is able to fix this some day” than to say, “I know He is doing just what needs to be done today.” The first response is a wistful “maybe” faith; the second response is a confident “absolutely” faith.

God’s not indifferent to our requests. Every day He is doing just what needs to be done according to His eternal plan. Therefore, I’ve changed the way I present my prayer concerns to God. Instead of saying, “Do something about this, Lord,” I now say, “I know you love this person, Lord, and are working in his life” or “I know you are working on the solution to this problem, Lord. Help me wait patiently, confident you have everything under control.”

If we believe in His power, we can wait for His timing.

Denise K. Loock is a freelance writer. Her devotions and stories appear in best-selling books and magazines. She is also the founder of and writer for DigDeeperDevotions.com, a website dedicated to enabling Christians to dig deeper into God’s Word. In 2010, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas released Denise’s first collection of devotions—Open Your Hymnal: Devotions That Harmonize Scripture With Song. Find out more about the book at www.digdeeperdevotions.com/books.aspx.

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Prayer Changes Me – Denise Loock
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Pray for those who despitefully use you. Matthew 5:44 KJV

My coworker’s words were unkind and untrue. How could this woman say such a thing about me? I fumed. All day her words simmered in my soul. Each time my mind hit the rewind button, my eyes narrowed and my jaw tightened.

That night as I lay in bed, I thought about what I’d do the next time I saw this woman. Avoid her? Confront her? Simply pretend I didn’t know what she’d said?

I also thought about what I should do. I knew what Jesus said in Matthew 5, but I wondered how I could possibly pray for this woman with a sincere heart. I wanted to tell her exactly what I thought and then complain to other people. I wanted to harbor a grudge and avoid her. But Jesus said that if I want to please Him, I would pray for those who hurt me.

The next morning when I sat down to have my devotions, my heart was restless, so I wrote my coworker’s name down on my daily prayer list. Then I admitted my feelings to God. “Lord, I don’t like this person or what she did to me.” God knew what had happened. I didn’t need to airbrush what she had done or camouflage how I felt about it.

Next I confessed my unwillingness to change my attitude. “Lord, I can’t get over this. I’m too angry, too hurt.” Then I reminded myself that God loves this woman as much as He loves me. He offers the same forgiveness to her that He offers to me. “Help me Lord,” I said. “Help me to see what You see when you look at her.”

Several weeks passed. One day my coworker and I were both working in the copier room. She seemed agitated so I asked, “How’s your day going?” As she revealed details about an ongoing trial in her life, I realized why she might have misjudged me and recognized that I’d misjudged her too. I felt the Holy Spirit nudge my heart and the stone of resentment that I’d been cradling in my spirit cracked.

My attitude toward those who offended me didn’t change overnight. Sometimes it took months. But gradually God has changed my perspective. He instills sympathy for others in me and provides humility about my own faults.

Pray for those who have hurt you. Give God an opportunity to work in your heart.

Denise K. Loock is a freelance writer. Her devotions and stories appear in best-selling books and magazines. She is also the founder of and writer for DigDeeperDevotions.com, a website dedicated to enabling Christians to dig deeper into God’s Word. Denise’s first collection of devotions—Open Your Hymnal: Devotions That Harmonize Scripture With Song is now available. Find out more about the book at www.digdeeperdevotions.com/books.aspx.

Read Denise’s devotions.

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!

Craving an Answer – Denise Loock
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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NIV

A chocolate craving ambushed me as I sat in the waiting room at Jiffy Lube. We wrestled for a few minutes, but it attacked at the most vulnerable time of my day, mid-afternoon. In defeat I slinked over to the vending machine, inserted my quarters into the slot, and waited for a Snickers bar to drop. It didn’t. I glanced behind me and then banged on the glass. Nothing. I grabbed the sides of the machine and shook it. Unbelievable! I fumed as I headed toward the receptionist.

“I’m sorry,” she said, sliding my refund across the counter. “We’ve had a lot of trouble with that machine lately.” The craving howled inside my stomach as I shuffled back to my seat.

Sometimes I approach prayer like I approached that vending machine. An urgent situation arises. I slide my request toward God and expect immediate results. If an answer doesn’t drop down quickly I complain, “Where’s my answer, God?”

However, God isn’t a vending machine, and prayer isn’t the coin that operates His will. Prayer is a doorway through which I can enter God’s presence and wait for Him to speak. Paul said, “present your requests,” not “demand an answer.” He didn’t mention God granting the requests either. The response we can expect from God is peace—a calm assurance that He will do what He knows is best.

Why does He respond with peace? Paul says that God’s peace will guard our hearts. Guard is a military term that refers to soldiers assigned to prevent invasion or protect civilians.

Peace strengthens our confidence in God’s ability to prevent enemies from defeating us, enemies like discouragement, fear, and bitterness. His peace also protects us from making rash decisions and harmful choices. We may not understand why God doesn’t dispense the solutions we desire, but His Word assures us that God’s peace “transcends all understanding.”

I banged on the vending machine because I assumed I could compel it to fulfill my desires. Have you been banging on the window of heaven, trying to force the answer you desire to drop? Lower your fist and extend your palms in humble expectation. God longs to fill your hands with His peace and your mouth with thanksgiving.

Denise K. Loock is a freelance writer. Her devotions and stories appear in best-selling books and magazines. She is also the founder of and writer for DigDeeperDevotions.com, a website dedicated to enabling Christians to dig deeper into God’s Word. In 2010, Lighthouse Publishing of the Carolinas released Denise’s first collection of devotions—Open Your Hymnal: Devotions That Harmonize Scripture With Song. Find out more about the book at www.digdeeperdevotions.com/books.aspx.

Read Denise’s devotions

Receive a daily devotion on your Kindle!