Praying in the Spirit of Abeyance

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.

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.

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?