Jeremiah 42:7
And it came to pass after ten days, that the word of the LORD came unto Jeremiah.

Sometimes we are so impatient with prayer. We pray about something one time and expect an answer right then. But God doesn’t always work on our timetable. In fact, more often than not, we have to wait to hear from Him. We may not like it, but it is necessary, and it grows our faith to wait. It shows God that we are willing to refrain from making our own hasty decisions without His guidance. It strengthens our reliance on God and draws us into deeper fellowship to wait, to have to pray through something over and over again. Even in situations that seem urgent to us, God takes His time as He works and moves behind the scenes.

One of the biggest proofs that all things have to happen in God’s own timing is that He so often makes us wait. There are countless examples in Scripture of people having to wait to hear from God or to receive the fulfillment of His promise to them. Some people tried to take matters into their own hands in faulty attempts to hasten God’s timetable, like Sarah giving Hagar to Abraham in order to give him a child. Others waited patiently for their answers, like Elisabeth and Zacharias finally having a child after so many years. In both cases, what God wanted to happen came to pass when God wanted it to. The only difference is how we respond to having to wait.

In Jeremiah’s case, the matter wasn’t extremely urgent, and he only had to wait 10 days, not 10 years. Still, he knew it was best to wait for God’s answer than to try to come up with his own ideas about what to do in the situation. He gave the men wise counsel from God and told them exactly what God expected of them and what would happen if they disobeyed. Even then the men disobeyed after waiting for an answer from God.

Let’s not be impatient in our prayers, but give God time to work things out and give us answers in His own timing. Let’s trust that He knows what He is doing and that He is in control of the situation. But then we must also choose to obey Him in what He reveals to us. It is wise to seek God’s guidance, but it is certainly very foolish to not heed what He then tells us to do. No matter what decisions we face or challenges we encounter, let us seek the Lord in prayer, and then let us wait upon Him to show us what is best and to fulfill His purposes and promises in our lives.