Waiting on a Relationship

Before they call, I will answer; while they are still speaking, I will hear. Isaiah 65: 24

The first week of school is exhausting for students. My friend Kathy went over to hear how her little grandson liked his first day of kindergarten. “It was pretty fun,” he told her. She asked him what he thought they might do on his second day in the classroom.

He looked at her in shock. “I have to go back?” he asked.

The first week is exhausting for teachers as well. The things you say and the policies you introduce set the tone for the entire year. Planning for the week takes much thought. You must prepare for every contingency. While weekly lesson plans ordinarily took about an hour and a half to map out, my partner Rene and I would spend a whole day planning for just that first week.

Unlike a classroom teacher, God knows the future and has already planned for what He knows will happen. The psalmist put this ability of God in this way: “Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, You know it all.” (Psalm 139:4) Our prayers are known before they are even spoken.

In fact, God can send the answer to our request before we are even done asking. An example of this is given to us in Daniel 9. As Daniel prayed for understanding of a vision, the angel Gabriel appeared before him. Gabriel informed Daniel, “At the beginning of your supplications the command was issued, and I have come to tell you…” (Daniel 9:23) Daniel hadn’t even finished his prayer when God sent Gabriel down to answer his request!

God stands ready to bless us. Ps 31:19 says “How great is your goodness, which you have stored up for those who fear you, which you have wrought for those who take refuge in You.” James told his readers “You do not have because you do not ask.” If God knows what we are going to pray and stands ready to bless us, why does He wait for us to pray at all?

Beth Moore gives us this thought: “God knows what he is going to do, but he is relational to the core. He often waits to be asked and waits to be sought. And not just for answers but for the very presence of relationship.”

The asking and the faith that it takes to trust God for an answer is all a part of the process God uses to draw us into an ever-closer relationship with Him. He wants us at His feet, dependent on Him, and learning about His faithfulness to hear us and provide for our needs. God is all about the relationship.

He’s got your back. We will not lose any of His tender shepherding care because we forgot to ask. But He wants more than to provide for us. He is after our hearts. He wants us to experience an intimacy with Him that will not come by any other means but through conversation and seeking His face. So He often waits to bless us until we approach Him.