Sometimes God Takes a Long Time to Answer Prayer; His Times are Not Our Times

[Ghoti Ichthus]

What we learn in Sunday School, even as little kids, is important.
It's never too early to teach a child to pray and trust that God will answer in His own way, in His own time, and that His plan is perfect, even when we don't understand it, don't like His answer (sometimes it's No or not what we expected), or why it's taking so long for God to answer
It's never too early for a little child to learn ugly truths like sin, death, Hell, persecution, and martyrdom in great detail.
It's never too early for a little child to learn to pray for and about "important things," like persecuted people, missionaries, and persecutors/enemies.
Sometimes, God takes a long time to answer prayer. Sometimes, so long that we forget what we prayed for.

When I was around five, I prayed to God for our church (here in the United States) to be persecuted. We had been learning about the persecuted church in Sunday School, and I wanted to see the church be strong, stand up against evil, and see the big, wonderful miracles that happen in a persecuted church, and simply knew God would do this.
Sometime in my sixties, I saw that the Church in the United States is being persecuted. Not to the extent that the early Church was, or modern persecuted churches around the world (yet), but I suddenly remembered that long-forgotten childhood prayer, and realized that God had answered/was answering it, so I better be thanking Him and looking for miracles I think part of why I had forgotten my prayer was that as a little child, I had that simple trust that God would and was going to do this.

Over six decades to answer my heartfelt, innocent prayer as a little child
His times are surely not our times

I wonder what other long-forgotten childhood prayers God is answering/going to answer





JESUS!!!


8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
Isaiah 55:8-9,KJV

 

[Margery]

What we learn in Sunday School, even as little kids, is important.
It's never too early to teach a child to pray and trust that God will answer in His own way, in His own time, and that His plan is perfect, even when we don't understand it, don't like His answer (sometimes it's No or not what we expected), or why it's taking so long for God to answer
It's never too early for a little child to learn ugly truths like sin, death, Hell, persecution, and martyrdom in great detail.
It's never too early for a little child to learn to pray for and about "important things," like persecuted people, missionaries, and persecutors/enemies.
Sometimes, God takes a long time to answer prayer. Sometimes, so long that we forget what we prayed for.

When I was around five, I prayed to God for our church (here in the United States) to be persecuted. We had been learning about the persecuted church in Sunday School, and I wanted to see the church be strong, stand up against evil, and see the big, wonderful miracles that happen in a persecuted church, and simply knew God would do this.
Sometime in my sixties, I saw that the Church in the United States is being persecuted. Not to the extent that the early Church was, or modern persecuted churches around the world (yet), but I suddenly remembered that long-forgotten childhood prayer, and realized that God had answered/was answering it, so I better be thanking Him and looking for miracles I think part of why I had forgotten my prayer was that as a little child, I had that simple trust that God would and was going to do this.

Over six decades to answer my heartfelt, innocent prayer as a little child
His times are surely not our times

I wonder what other long-forgotten childhood prayers God is answering/going to answer





JESUS!!!


8 For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the Lord.
9 For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways,
Isaiah 55:8-9,KJV

I always remember our daughter age 4 or 5 praying for a pool. I kept telling her that her daddy and I didn't have that in the budget, wasn't going to happen, but she kept praying anyway.

Within a year or two we were transferred and guess what? The new home we bought had an above ground pool. God heard her prayer. It was the only house in our price range that had the other stuff we needed or wanted and there was this annoying pool to look after.

God heard her prayers and ignored us as He answered her. I loved it. I should go phone her and remind her of that. Thanks for that memory!

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

I always remember our daughter age 4 or 5 praying for a pool. I kept telling her that her daddy and I didn't have that in the budget, wasn't going to happen, but she kept praying anyway.

Within a year or two we were transferred and guess what? The new home we bought had an above ground pool. God heard her prayer. It was the only house in our price range that had the other stuff we needed or wanted and there was this annoying pool to look after.

God heard her prayers and ignored us as He answered her. I loved it. I should go phone her and remind her of that. Thanks for that memory!

But did you and she enjoy the pool?

 

[Margery]

But did you and she enjoy the pool?

She did! So did her brother. I didn’t care for the maintenance. The useable time was 2 months a year, maybe 3 if we got a good summer. It was in Prince George in north central BC where summer is July and August and snow can hang around till June on a bad year. It’s never really hot and nighttime temperatures dip into cold so the pool remained frigid even on the hottest days.

She and her brother didn’t mind the cold water. Her 5 daughters swim in the pond at their farm when ice is still around the rim. Russian blood.

 

[Ghoti Ichthus]

She did! So did her brother. I didn’t care for the maintenance. The useable time was 2 months a year, maybe 3 if we got a good summer. It was in Prince George in north central BC where summer is July and August and snow can hang around till June on a bad year. It’s never really hot and nighttime temperatures dip into cold so the pool remained frigid even on the hottest days.

She and her brother didn’t mind the cold water. Her 5 daughters swim in the pond at their farm when ice is still around the rim. Russian blood.

No Russian blood, but grew up swimming in the Great Lakes, so swimming anytime there was open water in Green Bay, or diving without a wet suit among the baby ice flows/icebergs in the St Lawrence in spring was pretty comfy. Almost became a heat casualty wearing a wet suit on my first dive. Throwing the chunks of ice above and below the surface was fun, too

As much as I enjoyed diving in the Red Sea, I didn't care for the bath water temps, especially summertime and early fall.

 

[Spartan Sprinter]

She did! So did her brother. I didn’t care for the maintenance. The useable time was 2 months a year, maybe 3 if we got a good summer. It was in Prince George in north central BC where summer is July and August and snow can hang around till June on a bad year. It’s never really hot and nighttime temperatures dip into cold so the pool remained frigid even on the hottest days.

She and her brother didn’t mind the cold water. Her 5 daughters swim in the pond at their farm when ice is still around the rim. Russian blood.

AHAHA the closest "Russian thing" i do is have cold showers every morning, even in winter