Taco Bell is the fastest fast-food chain in America, with an average wait time of 4.26 minutes, making it more than a minute faster than any other fast-food restaurant. The faster these companies can get your food to you, the better their business and the more revenue they bring in.
As humans, we hate waiting. We want high-speed internet; we want super-fast service at a restaurant; we don’t want to wait at the doctor’s or dentist’s office; we hate traffic because it makes us wait. We want it and we want it now; this could be the unofficial slogan of the modern age.
Society is moving more and more towards this sort of outlook on relationships. We don’t want to invest any real time or effort into building a relationship, we just want the perks of that relationship. The trouble is, that’s not how real, loving, trusting and long-lasting relationships work. Real relationships don’t work like a fast-food restaurant or a vending machine. Rather, they are to be like a full-course meal — something that takes a while but is well worth the wait.
If we begin to view human relationships in this way and are always looking for the fast and easy, it's no wonder that we struggle with the concept of prayer. We try to make prayer like a vending machine. Put in the money, push the right button combination and out comes exactly what we want — immediately — without waiting, faith or real commitment to a trusting relationship.
The challenge with prayer is that it doesn’t work like that. There is no special formula or perfect combination of words to ensure that your prayer is answered exactly as you want. And more often than not, prayers take time to be answered. That doesn't mean that God can’t or won’t answer your prayers right away; He can and does sometimes. But when He doesn’t respond immediately to our requests, do we simply walk away because we don’t want to wait?
Psalm 93:20–22 says, “Our soul waits for the Lord; He is our help and our shield. For our heart is glad in Him, because we trust in His holy name. Let Your steadfast love, O Lord, be upon us, even as we hope in You.” David explains that the only way to be capable of waiting on the Lord is by having trust in Him.
Trust is something that comes from a real, living relationship. You can’t trust someone you don’t know. The same is true of God. Trusting only comes because of a relationship with Him. Prayer is an outpouring of our trust relationship with God. We pray because we trust that God listens and is working to bring answers to our prayers.
My challenge for you is to make prayer like a gourmet, multi-course meal — something we spend time at; something we sit down and savor. God is an ever-listening God who loves us very much, and He desires for us to truly taste and experience Him.
Pray for patience, and watch how God can transform your prayer life this year.
