We pray and we persevere. We watch and we wonder. We wait and we become weary. We know that God is there - somewhere. He has responded to our requests before. But where is He now? We stand before Him with great expectations and outstretched hands yet nothing is happening. We cannot help but ask why. He promised us that He would never leave us nor forsake us. Where is He when we need Him?
So, what happens when we pray and there is no answer? Listen to our Psalmist: “Why, O Lord, do You reject me and hide Your face from me?” He seems to have turned from confidence to confusion. This God whom he called upon constantly with outstretched arms and unflinching faith is nowhere to be found. He felt abandoned!
Remember, this also happened to Jesus. In the Garden He cried, “If there is any other way than my death on the cross to save mankind, please make it known. Why, Father, can’t You come up right now with plan ‘B’?” But, God was silent. Absent. Gone!
On the cross He said, “My God, my God, where are You? Why have You abandoned me? I am alone, suffering for something I didn’t do and You left me to be humiliated and suffer and die.” And God was silent. Absent. Gone!
The prayer of the Psalmist, much like the prayer of Jesus on the cross, does not end in immediate resolution - like many of our prayers. But that does not mean that God does not hear or does not care and will never answer our requests.
Often when we pray and do not get the results we ask for when we ask for them, God is saying: “You may not get what you asked for when you asked for it. Just trust in me and do not waiver. What I have planned for you is far better.”
Prayer: Help us, Lord, to know that You are present and at work in our lives completing the plan You have designed for us. Give us patience and trust! In Jesus’ Name, Amen.
Scripture For Today: Psalm 88:14 Why, LORD, do you reject me and hide your face from me?
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