Timing

~Six weeks ago, my friend's cat got out of her house. It was on Halloween night. During all the opening and closing of the front door for the trick-o-treaters, the cat escaped. Well, her cat is an indoor cat. She doesn't really know her way outdoors around the neighborhood. When my friend told me, she was heartbroken. I felt terrible for her. I started praying immediately for her cat's safe return. So did my friend. I prayed every night. I started losing hope for my friend and her cat. About a month went by and there was still no word.

~I saw my friend on December 11th. She said "You are not going to believe this?!" Of course, I was excited and asked what was the good news. I was shocked by her next words. She said, "My cat showed up. She is back home!" I said, "Your kidding??" How does that happen? It had been 6 weeks since her cat disappeared. I was honest with her and told her I stopped praying after 4 weeks. That I had given up. She admitted she had too. I said to her, "God showed us, didn't He? We gave up but He never did!" God did hear our prayers. Not only did he hear them but he answered them. What a lesson learned by both of us. God's timing is on a whole different level than ours. He can still produce miracles.

~We should not give up on what the Lord can do in our lives. His timing just like His understanding is not ours to reason with. Our job is to have faith in Him long after we pray. Otherwise, they are empty words. What are we praying for if we truly believe God will not answer them? Even if what we are praying for is answered long after we think it should be, we should be thankful He answered them at all.

~I used to pray for a cure for Lupus. I have changed my prayers to account for my current state of health. I now pray for relief from pain, for more good days than bad but I realized after my friend's cat was found that I can and should still pray for a cure. Maybe there will not be a cure for me to benefit from. But, that shouldn't stop my prayers for others. The cure will come in God's time and I am okay with that.