The Time Factor

One of the hardest things for a Christian to do is understand the 'Time Factor' in answered prayer. Have you ever wondered why some prayers get answered quickly and others seem to fade out into obscurity? I wish I could tell you that there is some mystical, magical formula that we could all use that would tell us the exact date when and/or if God would answer our prayers. But, there isn't any.
The important thing to remember is, that God gave us His promises, His heart-produced Word. He never spoke any Word into existence that He did not intend to honor. Isaiah 55:11-So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it. Let's combine this promise with what Jesus said about answered prayer in the parable of the unjust judge. Luke 18:1-And He spake a parable unto them to this end, that men ought always to pray, and not to faint; Verse 7-And shall not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bear long with them? Verse 8-I tell you He will avenge them speedily. Nevertheless when the Son of man cometh, shall He find faith on the earth. If you are not familiar with this parable, please take a few moments to read it.
From these few verses, we are assured of God's heart and God's intentions. Notice in verse seven, it says that God will avenge His own elect. That word in the Greek means to vindicate one from wrongs. It indicates that God wants to whip somebody for messing with His children. You need to settle in your heart whether you are the mess-er or the mess-ee. Have you spent your time running over people to get your way, or have you been run over while you were living for Jesus the best that you can? Now, if you are the offended party, God says that He is just as mad as you are. Think about this. God's bigger than you and the offender both. If that is so, then His mad is bigger than you both. The smart thing to do is not take vengance yourself and stay out of the way. God wants to lay a whippin' on somebody and if you're trying to take care of business yourself, you might just get hit by God's-belt-backswing. If you've never got a whuppin', (that's whipping for you Yankees) then you have no idea what I'm talking about. The bottom line is, you are His child no matter how old you are and He does not like any sin, sickness or poverty to harm you.
Jesus gives away the secret in verse seven when He speaks of us praying day and night. He also says though He bear long with them. Notice He never said the answer is "NO." He said though He bear long with them. Settle it in your heart that God always intends on honoring His Word.
That brings us to the time element. Read these scriptures: There was a set time for Isaac to be born-Gen 21:2. There was a set time for the children to come out of bondage-Ex 12:41. Jesus even waited on God's time in turning the water into wine-John 2:4. He was going to do it that day but He was waiting on God's time element. In raising Lazarus, everyone thought that Jesus was four days late. The time to raise Lazarus was whenever Jesus said "Lazarus, come forth." (Notice at the top of this page there is a link to the song "Four Days Late" by Karen Peck. You ought to shut all the windows, get a big hanky and kick your shoes off before you listen to it, because you're probably going to have one of them shoutin', crying, and runnin' Holy Ghost fits.) In Luke 22:53, Jesus tells the priest when they came to arrest Him, but this is your hour, and the power of darkness.
To sum it all up, meditate on two things. 1-God wants to bless you with all of His heart. 2-There are sometimes when He does bear long with us. The reason He does in Luke 18:8, shall He find faith on the earth? Keep holding on to God's word. It is the only thing that will never change. Many times it is the only thing that can change the situation you are in right now. Hold on to God's Word and God's Word will hold on to you no matter what you are going through right now. Much Love, Henry.