You smell the hickory smoke rising from barbecue being cooked for hours or even days?  The aroma is a constant reminder that a good barbecue is coming.  When the dinner is finally ready it is well worth the wait.  Tender, moist, flavorful barbecue that only time can produce.  Imagine that same meal cooked in the microwave for just minutes.  It may smell good but it’s tough and stringy with the flavor poured only on the outside.  What a disappointment.

The same concept applies to prayers.  Days, weeks, months or even years go by.  There are gentle reminders along the way that God has not forgotten.  Much love, thought and details are penetrating each aspect of our prayers.  This includes the slow progress we see and the spiritual things we never see.  God knows each small detail.  When the answer comes it is worth twice the wait.  What if we speed things up a little or want things right now.  We phone a friend or manipulate things with people in order to get everything quicker.  It may give a quick temporary satisfaction.  However it sifts like sand through our fingers without much hope of a second chance, especially in relationships or job promotions.  An unprepared heart will only be a replica of the real thing if God isn’t allowed to finish His great work.  WAIT

Psalm 62:1-2

 I wait quietly before God,
    for my victory comes from Him.
 He alone is my rock and my salvation,
    my fortress where I will never be shaken.