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I looked at the list of prayer concerns written on the 3 x 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. 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?" 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 ask, “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 someday” 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.”

Believe in God’s power, and you can wait for His timing.

(Photo courtesy of pixabay.)

(For more devotions, visit Christian Devotions.)