Have you ever wanted something for so long, you thought you’d never see it happen?  This morning I received an email from a grandmother telling me she saw on the news a pimp who was involved with her granddaughter was finally arrested, tried, and given life in prison thanks to the Atlanta Human Trafficking Unit.  He will no longer prey on innocent girls.  She’d spent many sleepless nights praying for her granddaughter and those prayers did not go wasted.  God was listening and his heart broke every time her heart broke.  Today He will celebrate with her as she gives thanks for one more pimp behind bars.
You don’t have to have a granddaughter caught up in the sex trade to know what it’s like to have hope deferred.  Proverbs 13:12 says, “Hope deferred makes the heart sick, but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.”  We all long for something, whether for ourselves or someone else.  Abraham knew about hope deferred.  He had longed for a son of his own, as much for his wife, Sarah, as for himself [Genesis 17:1-17].  He wanted it, but saw no possible way for it to happen.  Have you ever been there?  Have you ever felt like your prayers were wasted words?  The Lord hears our prayers and He knows how to move heaven and earth to answer them [Isaiah 66:1, Jeremiah 33:3, Daniel 9:21-23].  He simply does it in His timing, not ours.  Sometimes we may feel He’s forgotten us, but He is simply getting things in order or doing warfare on our behalf [Daniel 10:10-14].  He is with us always [Mark 14:7].
Is there something you’ve been laboring over in prayer?  You’re not alone.  Romans 8:34 tells us, “Christ Jesus, who died– more than that, who was raised to life– is at the right hand of God and is also interceding for us.”  Jesus is joining our intercession as we cry out to the Father and the Father listens to Jesus.  Don’t give up.  Don’t believe the enemy’s lie that you nor your requests matter to God.  You are precious to Him and He is working on your behalf.  You can trust Him and you can trust in His timing!