I have been of the understanding that God works on His own timeline and I have to be content and accept that He does. And then I read this morning in Psalm 102.
“1Hear my prayer, O LORD;
let my cry come to you!
2Do not hide your face from me
in the day of my distress!
Incline your ear to me;
answer me speedily in the day when I call!”
— Psalm 102:1-2 (ESV)
Here we see a complaining prayer to the LORD. Notice that it starts as I have recently written with the call out to the LORD for Him to hear. There is even the pleading with the LORD to pay attention. And then we see it, “answer me speedily in the day when I call!” And it is proclaimed in earnest as noted with the exclamation mark. We are to ask the LORD to work speedily.
I can see the conflict in what I understood and what I am reading as pertains to my asking of and receiving from the LORD. I can and frankly should be asking Him to hear my prayer, meet my needs, and deliver me. I am to be content with what I have as all comes from God and He will always provide. Yet, here we see the asking of God to hurry up, which is not allowing God to work in His time and according to His plan.
Well, again I have to remember that God’s Word is more encompassing that the single passages that are presented at any one moment. I have to remember context and also know that ultimately God will not allow for my suffering unless it is a part of His plan and ultimately for His glory. You see, this passage is one of angst and there is a look to the LORD for relief. Who does not want relief as quickly as possible. I know that when trouble is presented for me, I am looking for quick resolution. There is nothing wrong with asking the LORD to resolve things “speedily” as noted above. I have to remember the relationship with God that I have and that He wants to hear our pleas from an honest heart, and will not look unfavorably on me for crying out to Him for whatever it is I am asking.
Where I can and should ask God for whatever it is that comes and is in my heart, I have to take the rest into account and know that even in my plea, God will still be working with His own plan and timeline. God hears from us and listens fully with His heart open to our words and heart. He wants us to bring all of us, including our complains and pleas, so that He will have the opportunity to comfort and demonstrate His love for us. So it is fully okay and acceptable to ask for speedy resolution to our requests. We are not out of bounds as the LORD is full of compassion for us and our relationship with Him is one in which we should not have to hold back in any area, especially when we are feeling broken and in need.
What do your prayers to the LORD contain? Are you conflicted in asking for really what is in your heart because it may not be what you understand you can ask for? What if you just asked for that which is in your heart and know that God will answer in His time and according to His plan?
Trevor's Thoughts 