A Look at Psalm 119:84
Wait for it!
Psalm 119:84 “How long must your servant wait Lord? When will you punish my persecutors?”
How long must I wait Lord? When are You going to answer my prayer? Can you relate to those questions? We turn back to the prophet Habakkuk again for some direction. In Habakkuk 1:2 he said,
“How long, O Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen?”
Everything was going wrong in the country: there was violence, injustice, and destruction. God was nowhere to be found, or so it seemed.
Finally, God answered the prophet with,
“Though it linger, (the answer) wait for it; it will certainly come and I will not delay” Habakkuk 2:3.
God’s answer to Habakkuk was, “Keep on praying. The answer is on the way, so keep praying for it.” In this case, the continuance of prayer was a sign of faith, not a lack of faith.
In
Luke 18, Jesus taught us that to persist in prayer is a sign of faith. Because the widow would not stop asking, she finally received justice
(Luke 18:5). Jesus ended His teaching in
verse 8, saying,
“However, when the Son of Man comes, will He find faith on the earth?” He likens faith to those who continue praying against all odds.
Contrary to popular teaching, and belief, faith is not tested in the answers we get. It is tested in the answers that we
don’t get.
Hebrews 11:39 says,
“These (heroes of the faith) were all commended for their faith, yet none of them received what they had been promised.”
That begs the question of you and me… "Will you / I still serve God, even though you/I don’t seem to have the answers you/I are looking for?” Faith gives us the ability to lay our life in God’s hands. Faith allows us to trust God, even though those who persecute us seem to flourish while we suffer. Faith gives us the ability to die to self.
As we wrap up this one-verse devotional, let me encourage you to take some time even today to meditate on this verse, asking God if you have the kind of faith that can continue to pray, against all odds, and not give up.
Continued
