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PERSEVERANCE IN PRAYER — Part 10 "So I say to you, ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and he who seeks finds, and to him who knocks it will be opened" (Luke 11:9-10). The prophet Isaiah wrote the following concerning the endearing relationship between the Lord and His people. "It shall come to pass that before they call, I will answer; and while they are still speaking, I will hear." Several times in my walk with the Lord, the Lord has answered my prayers immediately. But, there have been other times when there appears to be a very long delay before God's answer is realized. Notice this seeming paradox within our Lord's teaching in Luke 18, "And shall not God avenge His own elect who cry out day and night to Him, though He BEARS LONG with them? I tell you that He will avenge them SPEEDILY." There appears to be a complete contradiction within the words of Luke 18:7-8! Verse 7 declares that these believers continually cry out, day and night. However, verse 8 continues by replying that the Lord will answer speedily." What do believers need to realize in this quandary? The Lord is demonstrating the faith to persevere in prayer. The believer's faith in the Lord is the furnace of their life. It is the grace of God which supplies the fuel for your "furnace of faith." Furthermore, persevering prayer is the shovel that feeds the fuel into the furnace! However, this apparent contradiction within verses 7 and 8 does not make sense to man's puny minds. Is God bearing long without persevering prayers, or is He answering speedily? Well, friend, to arrive at the biblical answer to this question, remember that our Lord and God exist above "time and space." He is the eternal "I Am." When the Jehovah God appeared to Moses in the burning bush, He declared His name, "I Am." Thousands of years later, Jehovah God the Son said that He is the "I Am." Ten thousand years from now, He will still be the eternal "I Am"! Our omnipresent, omnipotent, and omniscient Lord lives in the "eternal now." We say, "I was; I am; and (Lord willing) I will be." But God proclaims, "I AM"! So what appears to be a very long time for those living on the timeline of human history, is nothing for Him who lives above time! "But beloved, do not forget: with the Lord, one day is as a thousand years and a thousand years as a day." This reality informs that "speedily to God is not necessarily speedily to you and me." For with the Lord, TIMING is much more important than time. To the Creator, all time is nothing before the Lord God." Therefore, there is nothing that is either "too long or too short" to Him. God sees the timeline of history in its entirety. Consequently, there are times when God wisely chooses to delay the answer for what may appear to man to be a very long time from our viewpoint. However, God always has perfectly wise reasons for His delay. When God chooses to delay His answer, it is for the believer's ultimate good and His glory. The delay is never because God does not desire to answer. The delay is never because God does not delight in hearing and answering the prayers of His children. On the contrary, the delay is always due to His infinitely superior wisdom and His sense of perfect timing. So, dear friend, if God appears to be delaying His answer, patiently wait for His answer. Do not attempt to manipulate the situations to achieve the desired outcome in your timing. Any answer that man brings about is only temporary. When God answers, He does lasting, eternal work. What are believers to do while waiting for God to answer? They must continue to pray fervently, unashamedly, and persistently. Don't give up; don't give in, and don't give out. The precious Lord is nothing like the unjust judge. The Heavenly Father loves His children so much that He voluntarily delivered up His only begotten Son for our redemption. He delights to grant our requests when He knows they are ready to receive the answer. So, keep praying, and don't lose heart. He will bring about His answer according to His timetable, not yours!