Little Boy with His Can of Soup

I waited patiently for the Lord; he turned to me and heard my cry. Psalm 40:1 (NIV)

 A little boy sat quietly on the dimly-lit basement stairs with a can of soup beside him. He was waiting patiently for someone to open the can and warm up his lunch. That boy was my youngest grandson.

There are occasions when my grandchildren are not so quiet, nor are they patient. Sometimes they are insistent and want my attention right now.

“I’m hungry. I want lunch now, Grandma.”

We wait expectantly for God to answer our prayers for direction in our lives or to reveal His purpose for us. Sometimes we wait patiently for Him to reveal new opportunities for ministry. Deuteronomy 4:7c tells us “the Lord God is near us whenever we pray to him.”

Frustration rears its head when an answer seems to take longer than we think it should. Day after day, we plead our case before the Lord, just as David did in Psalm 4:1. 

“Answer me when I call to you, O my righteous God . . . hear my prayer.”  

It may be a matter of trust. When the Israelites cried out to God during a battle in 1 Chronicles 5, He answered their prayers because they trusted in Him. Do we trust God for His answer to our request? Are we willing to sit quietly waiting for His reply? His timing is always perfect.

My son poked his head into the stairwell. “Come on, son,” he said, taking the can of soup, “Let’s have lunch.”

Dear Father, you know what we need before we ask. Teach us to trust you as we wait patiently for answers to our prayers.

© 2013 Diane E. Hussey