“Be joyful in hope, patient in affliction, faithful in prayer.” Romans 12:12 NIV

There are passages in Scripture where I read about the children of Israel and their doubting, and I’m tempted to roll my eyes (okay sometimes I do). I’m like, they had deliverance from Egypt, the parting of the Red Sea, manna from Heaven, bitter water made sweet, and the list goes on. Yet, every time they were met with a new obstacle they threw their hands up in despair. “What should we do? What should we do?” As if the Lord had never done a thing for them in the past.

But as much as I roll my eyes and scoff, I sometimes have to pause and put a pin in that point of view, and take a closer look at my own behavior regarding the Lord and His deliverance. And if I’m honest, I’ll have to admit that I do the very same thing sometimes when my back is against the wall. And yes, it might be a different wall, and totally different circumstances, but my response would usually mirror the Israelites’ all the same.

This particular post came about because of a problem I’ve been dealing with recently; one that I’ve been in constant prayer about. I’ve prayed about the situation, I’ve fasted, I’ve had someone else pray with me and believe, but so far things have remained pretty much the same.

Now, when I had initially started praying about the matter, I had been quite fervent and brimming with faith, but as the weeks rolled on with no real change, my hope began to wane, and sadly doubt started setting in. But I believe that what is even worse than doubt is our questioning, and sometimes even accusing, the Lord. It starts out with simple murmurs like, “Why is it taking so long?” or “I guess it’s not meant to be.” to actual accusations that the Lord doesn’t love us, or that He is punishing us for some sin or the other.

I know I’m not alone in this, and I believe that we really do become like the children of Israel in this regard when we focus on the problem and lack of a quick resolution, than recalling the many, many prayers that have been answered in the past, and the many breakthroughs and blessings that we did receive from our Heavenly Father.

If we as Christians have the faith to believe, then the lack of an immediate answer to prayer should not sway us. Remember Daniel? His prayer had already been answered the very first day he prayed, but the angel was hindered by the prince of the Persian kingdom for 21 days. Of course Daniel didn’t know any of this at the time, just as we don’t know what’s going on behind the scenes when we pray. But things were happening in the spiritual realm that he could not see with his natural eyes. Nevertheless, he persevered without murmuring or complaining.

So I had to shift my focus away from the problem I was facing and instead stir up memories of, all of the blessings and all of the breakthroughs I had received over the years. You know the ones I’m talking about because you’ve experienced them yourself. That blessing that made you go wow, because you knew there was no way it could have happened if it wasn’t for the Lord. The one that brought tears to your eyes because you felt God’s love through it. That He didn’t answer because you were deserving, but because He loved you. Yes, it didn’t take long for my attitude to change and for the memories of prayers heard and prayers answered to strengthen my faith and fortitude.

I know that the waiting after we pray is sometimes hard, especially in the world we live in today, where everything happens quick, fast and in a hurry. Food microwaved in an instant, travel and technology in record time. But prayer is a process that cannot be zapped or microwaved. We pray, we wait, we give thanks while we wait for the answer. And if our God is the same yesterday, today and forever, what He’s done for us in the past, He can do for us again.

Then Jesus told his disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up. Luke 18: 1 NIV