Waiting for God

Truly my heart waits silently for God;
my deliverance comes from him.
In truth he is my rock of deliverance,
my tower of strength,
so that I stand unshaken…
Trust always in God, my people, pour out your hearts before him;
God is our shelter.

Elisabeth Elliot, Passion and Purity (Revell, 2002), p. 62.

There will be times during the long wait when you wonder if you should just stop praying, you wonder if God is listening, you wonder if your prayer will ever be heard. When those doubts begin to rise, taken even them to the Lord and surrender them. If the answer is no, learn to accept it with grace and move on. But if God gave you the desire in the first place, then do not cease to ask for it. Trust God implicitly. Though He be silent, God is not deaf, nor has He forgotten you. He is working behind the scenes in ways you cannot imagine, working on your behalf to prepare the answer to your request. And He is preparing your heart to receive it.

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Elisabeth Elliot’s writing has greatly influenced my life, even as a grown married woman. I truly wish someone had introduced me to her works when I was a teenager, but I am learning that it is never too late to incorporate the principles she teaches: namely, that passion is not sinful and purity is not prudish. Nor are they mutually exclusive. You can have both.