Before the Answer Comes

How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever?
How long will you hide your face from me?
How long must I wrestle with my thoughts
and day after day have sorrow in my heart?
How long will my enemy triumph over me?

Look on me and answer, LORD my God.
Give light to my eyes, or I will sleep in death,
and my enemy will say, “I have overcome him,”
and my foes will rejoice when I fall.

But I trust in your unfailing love;
my heart rejoices in your salvation.
I will sing the LORD’s praise,
for he has been good to me.
Psalm 13:1–6 NIV

Some requests are easy to make once and forget. Others keep finding their way back into our conversations. Think of a child looking forward to a promised outing. Even after being told the plans are settled, the child may ask again whether they're still going. It's not necessarily because the child doubts the promise. The anticipation is real, and so is the desire to hear that reassuring answer once more. But as we grow, the answers we hope for aren't always so certain. Yet we, too, find ourselves returning to someone we trust, still hoping, still asking, and still looking forward to what might happen.

David, an ancient king of Israel, knew something about asking again. Listen to the questions he brings to God. “How long, LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?” David isn't hiding how much he wants a reply. “Look on me and answer, LORD my God.” And then, without telling us whether an answer has come, he says, “But I trust in your unfailing love.” We may sometimes wonder whether God has forgotten us, yet still remember that His love has never failed us.

David's repeated “How long?” takes on fresh meaning when we hear Jesus tell the story of a widow who keeps asking a judge for justice. Jesus explains that His disciples “should always pray and not give up” (Luke 18:1). Then He asks, “And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night?” (Luke 18:7). The widow didn't know when the judge would respond, yet she kept coming. But God is no reluctant judge. Perhaps faith isn't only about believing what God will do. It's also about continuing to come to Him when we don't know what He will do.

Maybe you've had a morning when something you've been praying about comes to mind again. You still want an answer, and you bring it to Jesus once more. But listen to what He offers. “Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you” (John 14:27). It's His peace, offered to us! We don't have to settle every question or quiet every concern before enjoying His presence. We can receive the peace He offers today while confidently awaiting an answer to our prayers.

Jesus says, “Remain in me, as I also remain in you” (John 15:4). We don't have to keep checking whether our prayers have been answered before we can enjoy the day God has given us. We can still care deeply about what we've asked Him for, while becoming increasingly aware of His love in the life we're living right now. The answer may still be ahead, but there is nothing unfinished about Jesus' invitation to remain in Him today.

Prayer

Jesus, thank You that I can keep coming to You with the requests that matter deeply to me. Help me receive Your peace and discover the joy of remaining with You while I wait. Amen.