Photo by Animesh Basnet on Unsplash
The word abeyance may seem
confusing, but it’s just a prayer prayed in the waiting, in the unknown time
before the prayer is answered, for we who pray by faith believe God will answer
our prayers.
We all have deeply desired prayers
we hope will come true, some appropriate, while others are clearly profoundly
held wishes not based in the true hope of actually bringing God glory.
My godliest prayers are the ones
I’ve waited on for years; I keep praying them in the spirit of abeyance — I
continue to wait and hope and dream what life might be like when certain
relationships are reconciled. These prayers are not for stuff nor goals nor
other acquisitions, but they’re prayers that hold the hope that separation and
distance between friends and myself may diminish. God has had me pray these
prayers, as I said, for years now. And the waiting continues.
All we can add to our prayers, in matching
God’s faithfulness with our own, is to keep praying them.
God’s faithfulness with our own, is to keep praying them.
I keep praying them because I’m
hopeful for change, for an opportunity to do my bit to bring it about, and for these
other hearts to wish for genuine reconciliation. That doesn’t mean things have
to be the way they were, because we’ve all moved on. But it does mean we can acknowledge
the hurts we’ve carried, take responsibility for our contribution, and put the
hurt behind us, and not just pretend we’ve done it, or worse, not go there.
If you pray in the spirit of
abeyance, and your prayer is for what God wants, you might be praying for a way
to serve God, or for a relationship to start or blossom or improve; each of
which brings the Lord glory.
Praying in the spirit of abeyance
is a pray of faith, knowing that your prayer may go unanswered for a very long
time, an entire lifetime in some cases. It’s a prayer that’s satisfied to
receive according to God’s timing, accepting it may never come about.
Praying in the spirit of abeyance is praying
faithfully, in a way that refuses to give up.
faithfully, in a way that refuses to give up.
Praying in the spirit of abeyance
leaves the timing of the answer of the prayer to God but believes fully that
the prayer will be answered. It’s the godliest of prayers, for it believes God answers
prayers, but leaves the timing up to Him.
Prayer that goes unanswered for a
long time or isn’t answered is one of our biggest discouragements. It causes
some to abandon what faith they had. It’s important to not give up and keep
praying, accepting God’s answer and timing.
The ultimate faith is about praying
prayers that may not be answered, whilst believes they can be, in God’s timing.
It’s a brave prayer that holds onto
a hope that may never materialise, believing sincerely all along that it will.
God loves these kinds of prayers.
What prayers have you been tempted to stop
praying?
What prayers have you given up on that you feel
led to reinstate?
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