HH, Sir Godfrey Gregg D.Div
“ I opened to my beloved; but my beloved had withdrawn himself, and was gone: my soul failed when he spake: I sought him, but I could not find him; I called him, but he gave me no answer.” (Songs of Solomon 5:6).
The Lord, when He hath given great faith, hath been known to try it by long delayings. He has suffered His servants’ voices to echo in their ears as from a brazen sky. They have knocked at the golden gate, but it has remained unmovable, as though it were rusted upon its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, “Thou hast covered thyself with a cloud, that our prayer should not pass through.” Thus have true saints continued long in patient waiting without reply, not because their prayers were not vehement, nor because they were unaccepted, but because it so pleased Him who is Sovereign, and who gives according to His own pleasure. If it pleases Him to bid our patience exercise itself, shall He not do as He will with His own!
No prayer is lost. Praying breath was never spent in vain. There is no such thing as prayer unanswered or unnoticed by God, and some things that we count refusals or denials are simply delays.
Christ sometimes delays His help that He may try our faith and quicken our prayers. The boat may be covered with the waves, and He sleeps on, but He will wake up before it sinks. He sleeps, but He never oversleeps, and there are no “too lates” with Him.
Be still, sad soul! lift thou no passionate cry, But spread the desert of thy being bare To the full searching of the All-seeing eye; Wait! and through dark misgiving, black despair,
God will come down in pity, and fill the dry Dead place with light, and life, and vernal air. All it takes to see God in operation is a little patience. I remember when Daniel set His eyes towards heaven to pray, something happened and caused a great delay. That delay did not darken the sight of Daniel. I believed that it was a greater encouragement for Daniel to hold on and wait on the Lord. He was of good cheer. That was a desperate time for more desperate prayer. This I know from the Book of Daniel chapter ten that Daniel’s prayer was heard from the beginning of his prayer. Hallelujah
So what happened there that caused the delay to his answer. There was an interruption that caused the delay. (Daniel 10:12 Then said he unto me, Fear not, Daniel: for from the first day that thou didst set thine heart to understand, and to chasten thyself before thy God, thy words were heard, and I am come for thy words.13 But the prince of the kingdom of Persia withstood me one and twenty days: but, lo, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me; and I remained there with the kings of Persia.
My God, I was told that the prayer was heard but the Prince of Persia intercepted angel with the answer to Daniel, and after twenty and one days Michael was despatched and there was a war to break the delay. You will also notice that when the Lord is speaking it is very important for you to be still as dumb or He will shut you up. You will not be a good messenger if you love to talk and don’t listen. Go back to Samuel how he listened attentively to the still voice and ten to Eli. So the Lord shut up the mouth of Daniel for him to receive the message from heaven. Hallelujah, but his prayers were heard from the moment he set his eyes towards heaven.
Today you may be praying for something and it seems like everything is delayed, wait in patience. The answer is coming. The Lord will not forsake the righteous nor allow HIs seed to beg their bread. Even in this time of crisis when there seems to be no way out God is working out His plan for us. Hold on brethren one of the Princes is coming, Michael is on his way to us with an answer. Be not dismayed for the Lord our God is one Lord. Have a blessed day.
