WAIT

     God has placed the word "wait" before me many times this week. Sometimes, it was very significant to me, but ultimately, I felt God lead me to write about the common perception of His answers to prayer.
     It has been said that "God answers prayer in three different ways... YES, NO, and NOT NOW."  It became so clear to me that "not now" carries such a negative connotation and that it does not encourage any action on behalf of the person who has submitted a prayer request.
     I would like to think that we should replace "not now" with "wait"... a word that requires positive action or participation on behalf of the person who asks God for something. It means that the person has to do two things...1) hold on to faith and 2) exercise patience.
    "Not now" does not require any action on behalf of those who ask, but instead evokes a response of impatience. Impatience sometimes causes people to act on their own...out of God's timing and will. In a sense, this is rebellion, acting out of a lack of faith and a spirit of disobedience.
      There is promise and reward for obedience and for those who diligently seek Him...  "But they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint."  Isaiah 40:31 (KJV)