Why Haven't You Shown Up Yet...

One day, I got my daughter out of school earlier than her usual time.

"I was worried you weren't coming," she said as she got in the car.

"Why? I've never missed picking you up from anything, and I'm here at the time I told you I would be."

"Because, I had told you that I wanted to get out earlier than this." She answered.

I smiled and told her this was definitely a blog moment.

How many times do I pray and wonder why God doesn't show up when and how I want Him to?

I've had my moments where I've been pretty good at acting like the "God director" when I pray. I've also had my moments of frustration, while I wait for Him to answer them, when and how I wanted the prayers answered.

I know I'm not the only one to do this.

Over the last few years we've been praying for a prisoner in the mid-east to be freed and returned to America to be with his family. There are updates on him on the radio and face book. He is even in the news at times. 

Even with all of the prayers, he still isn't freed.

My daughter asked me about this, why God isn't answering this prayer.

I had to think for a minute, because I wondered this too. I know God is capable of it. He freed Peter from prison in the middle of the night and the prison guards didn't even know it.

This man, Saeed, is suffering quite a bit physically from the treatment he is receiving in prison. As the reports come out about him, there are many, many prayer vigils that go on for his release. 

Yet...he is still in prison.

I learned through a study called "Experiencing God" to look around your circumstance and see what God is doing and how you are to be involved. What is HE doing? What is HIS plan?

So, we changed our prayers, or rather added to them. We still pray for God to free Saeed. But my daughter now prays that Saeed would not give up on God's love for him. And she prays for his family. We've added that the people around him would come to know the one True God, and be saved. Prayers are added for his healing, comfort, and other things.

Yes, we want God to show up and free him very soon, but until then we've learned to cover him in prayer to be able to deal with his situation.

I'm sure back in Biblical times when it took years for the people to see God answer their prayers, they got discouraged. Like, Abraham and Sarah, the Israelites who were under Pharaohs rule for a couple hundred years after Joseph died, the Jewish people who longed for the promised Messiah who was to come and be their King.

When He did come - he didn't do things in the way the people thought he should...instead, he walked with the people, people that the deemed righteous ones wouldn't hang out with. He ate with them, healed them, and showed them the true love of God through a human touch.

Then he went and died. He didn't get himself off the cross and become the ruler of the world. Instead, he died and rose again, and became the ruler of eternity.

God always has a bigger plan than what we see.

His ways are so much higher than our ways.

It's so hard to deal with that when we are truly struggling, hurting, and desperate for the immediate answer to our situation.

Still, His ways are higher, and filled with more love than we can ever comprehend.

Ephesians 3:20-21

"Now to him who is able to do immeasurably more than all we ask or imagine, according to his power that is at work within us, to him be glory in the church and in Christ Jesus throughout all generations, forever and ever! Amen."

My prayer for you this day is that God will answer your prayers, more than you could ever ask or ever imagine for yourself.

Even though you may have prayed, and it may look as though God hasn't shown up yet...He will.

Believe it.