Abraham is described in the Bible as the “Father of Faith.” He is also known as the father of the multitude. He and his wife Sarah had no children even though they were old. When Abraham was 72 years old, God appeared to him and promised him a son. He had to wait 25 years for that promise to be fulfilled.

Jacob was the son of Isaac. Jacob’s son Joseph was sold to slave traders because of the jealousy of his brothers and was later unjustly imprisoned. After his release, Joseph became an officer under Pharaoh of Egypt. But for that he had waited a long time.

Moses was the leader God sent to deliver the Israelites from slavery in Egypt. However, it took Moses 40 years to lead them from Egypt to the land of Canaan. At the same time the book of Deuteronomy states that they had to travel a distance that could be covered in two weeks (Deut.1-2).

When David was very young, the prophet anointed him as king at God’s direction. However, it was 15 years later that David became the king of Judah. He had to face many challenges, and he had been king of Judah for seven and a half years before he was able to become king of Israel.

So, when we look at the cases of Abraham, Joseph, Moses, and David, all waited for many years for God’s promise to be fulfilled. Did they have much patience for that? Of course NOT, but they must have been very stubborn without knowing God’s ways, because they fulfilled the promise in life.

Now look at our lives. We all have many needs of one kind or another. We constantly pray to get them all fulfilled. We often get upset when the things we need do not arrive at the right time. As a result, our faith itself may weaken. We even fall behind in our prayer lives.

We have to remember a few things here. One of them is that God’s timing is not like our timing. We look at our lives as a whole and prioritize things accordingly. Then we need to leave the things we pray for to God’s decision. At the same time, we must continue to pray without losing faith—let us trust in God.

The second thing to remember is that God is always at work in us, even when we do not experience it. Similarly, He protects our interests even when we cannot see them. Let’s not forget that God’s plan for us is very special. If we live our lives trusting in the Lord, our waiting will never be in vain. We will know the joy of waiting to know God’s plans for us through prayer.

Waiting will prepare us to be strong in faith, strong in love, and ready to walk the path of God. Don’t be discouraged if it seems like God is delaying something. Don’t be discouraged when unexpected things happen in our lives. Pray for the strength to face them, because the Bible says: “For to those who love God, to those who are called according to his purpose, all things work together for good.” The best time for us is the time that God has set for each one of us. Let us wait for that time of God. That is, not looking at our clock—let us focus on God’s Heavenly clock.

God bless us all,

Fr. Charley