James 5:16 (NIV) Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.

When I was a senior in high school I began to experience some frustration over trying to figure out what I should do after graduation. Many of my friends had already picked out colleges or had secured jobs and knew what they wanted to do. I began to pray and ask God to help me decide on a path. Eventually over a number of months things became very clear. During that time when I was seeking the Lord about what to do I experienced growth as I never had before and yet at the time I was frustrated as I struggled.

Have you ever felt like God is far off and can’t hear your prayers? So many things in our microwave world are available in an instant and when we have troubles and begin to pray about them we often expect an immediate answer. This can be a challenging experience and yet spiritual growth can happen as we wait on Him.

I’ve often wondered about this. Why doesn’t God give a quicker answer when we pray to Him? There may be several reasons, we might be harboring sin in our heart (Isaiah 59:2) or perhaps our motives are impure. (James 4:3)

It is possible too that during these times when we are bringing our requests to Him He is bringing about spiritual growth and maturity. One thing is for sure; God hears our prayers and we can trust Him no matter the outcome.

I John 5:14-15 (NIV) This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us