Instant Answers

"I don't really see the use of praying about things," Abigail said as she hobbled to the refrigerator one morning. "I've been praying my sprained ankle would heal, but God hasn't answered my prayer." She rummaged around in the fridge. "Where's the orange juice?" "I'm afraid we ran out," said Mom. "But there are some oranges in there--why don't you squeeze one of those?"Abigail shook her head. "That takes too long," she said, shutting the refrigerator door. "I'll just buy some from the vending machine at school.""Mom!" Jude called out from the family room. "The internet's not working again!" Mom and Abigail heard him get up to restart the wireless router. "This thing is so annoying," he grumbled loudly. Abigail groaned. "That router needs to be replaced. Even when it does work, the internet's really slow. It took me forever to look up facts about mammals for my science homework last night." "Really?" said Mom. "It took you forever?""Well, twenty minutes."Mom smiled and shook her head. "It sounds like our gotta-have-it-now culture is giving you and Jude an instant gratification mentality." She eyed Abigail thoughtfully. "And judging from what you said a few minutes ago, it sounds like that attitude might be creeping into your prayer life too!"Abigail frowned. "What's an instant gratification mentality?""It's when we're so used to having things right away that the smallest delay becomes unacceptable to us--like having an internet connection that's not lightning-fast or taking a few minutes to squeeze an orange," Mom explained. "It can make us think God should answer our prayers instantly too."Abigail shrugged. "Okay, but we're supposed to expect answers, aren't we?""Yes, but asking God for answers to prayer isn't the same as looking up answers to homework on the internet," said Mom. "God's timing doesn't always match ours--He is much more patient than we are. Jesus patiently walks with us through the difficult circumstances we face in life--such as a sprained ankle that needs time to heal--so we can learn to trust Him and become more like Him. When we remember how patient and caring He is with us, we can be patient and wait for His answers. They'll come when the time is right." -Tanya Ferdinandusz