![]() Steve Fuller is lead pastor of Grace Church Abu Dhabi and writes at Living by Faith.It's a tough story to tell, and Whitney Houston herself is a tough act to follow, but the film does a great job on every front. Let us humbly and earnestly ask God to hurry - for his glory and our good. ![]() So, when we long for God to hurry, let us be like the psalmists. Which means that, generally speaking, if we humbly ask God to hurry, God will hurry more than if we had not asked. So there are times when the reason we do not receive something is because we did not ask God for it. James says, “we have not because we ask not” (James 4:2). But whatever the reason, when we ask God to hurry, our prayers will become more fervent. Maybe it’s because when we express our longing for haste, we end up feeling it even more. But when we add, “please do this quickly please hurry” - the earnestness grows. When we ask God to work we usually feel some earnestness. Jesus said it is good to be earnest in prayer: “I tell you, though he will not get up and give him anything because he is his friend, yet because of his impudence he will rise and give him whatever he needs” (Luke 11:8). I have found that the more I open my heart to him, expressing my longing that he act quickly, the more I experience his comfort and heart-satisfying presence. That’s one reason God wants us to pour out our souls before him (1 Samuel 1:15). And that can grow into frustration and bitterness. We are holding part of our hearts away from him. If we long for God to provide something quickly, but we don’t express that longing when we pray, then we’re not being honest. When we see that delays are part of his loving plan, it helps us humble ourselves before him, and trust him. It is a gift of another day to pray, to depend on him, to seek him. So every day of delay is part of that goodness. But like David said, “The Lord is righteous in all his ways and kind in all his works” (Psalm 145:17).Īll his works - including their timing. This is crucial because we can easily grumble about God’s timing. When I ask God to hurry, and realize that God is perfectly good, I see that timing is part of his perfect goodness. It helps us see the goodness of God’s timing. Like David said, “My times are in your hand” (Psalm 31:15).Ģ. He will answer our prayers and provide for us exactly when we need him. But when I pray, “Father, quickly provide us with a worship leader don’t delay in helping us” - it reminds me that God can provide for us quickly. It’s easy to think the reason our church doesn’t yet have the new worship leader is because there are not many worship leaders available, or because the position is only part-time, or because this is a bad time of year to be looking, and so forth. ![]() It reminds us that God is sovereign over timing. And I’m discovering at least five benefits.ġ. Following the example of psalmists, I’ve been asking God to hurry. This makes me wonder: why don’t I pray like that? O Lord, I call upon you hasten to me! Give ear to my voice when I call to you! (Psalm 141:1) O God, be not far from me O my God, make haste to help me! (Psalm 71:12) Make haste, O God, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! (Psalm 70:1)īut I am poor and needy hasten to me, O God! You are my help and my deliverer O Lord, do not delay! (Psalm 70:5) You are my help and my deliverer do not delay, O my God! (Psalm 40:17) Make haste to help me, O Lord, my salvation! (Psalm 38:22)īe pleased, O Lord, to deliver me! O Lord, make haste to help me! (Psalm 40:13) You’ll notice that the psalmists often ask God to hurry.īut you, O Lord, do not be far off! O you my help, come quickly to my aid! (Psalm 22:19) I could just keep praying, “Father, please provide us with a new worship leader” - and leave it at that. What are we going to do without a worship leader? Yes, I’m starting to worry. So far, God has not provided - and the problem is that I need him to provide soon. So, of course, I’ve been networking, calling, posting on church employment sites - and praying. Our present leader has served us well, but his schedule is changing and he plans to step down. The church where I serve as pastor needs a part-time worship leader. There’s something I’ve been praying about.
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