Facing Delay? This Word is for You! Part 1

If you have been waiting on a promise or promises from God or you've been waiting for your breakthrough, this prophetic series is for you from God. I recently posted a word where the Lord showed me a seed breaking open and producing a huge flowering plant. And he said, "The seeds of our faith are going to flourish in this season." That is so exciting. And as I've reflected on that, I felt led to share an important and I believe very needed encouragement for you.

A lot of you have been fighting so hard to have faith for something for an extended period of time. We live in what I would call a microwave generation where we want and are used to everything happening instantly. We also have been inundated with a westernized gospel that says if we just have enough faith, everything will happen for us immediately. I believe this has resulted in so much unnecessary frustration, disappointment, anger, disillusionment, hope deferred, and heart sickness.

In short, there's a really toxic and largely untrue doctrine out there that says if God hasn't answered your prayers, it's because you don't have enough faith. Every time, always. This theology is extremely harmful and totally unbiblical. The people in this camp of thought usually use verses like Mark 11:24, "Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it and it will be yours." And Matthew 21:22, "If you believe, you will receive whatever you ask for in prayer." I want to bring to attention the fact that these scriptures and most scripture does not come with timestamps.

Meaning they do not say that if you believe you will receive whatever you ask for immediately. And they do not say that if you believe enough, you will receive whatever you ask for instantaneously. They don't even say that if you believe you will receive whatever you ask for quickly or in a timely manner. Again, no timestamps.

This instantaneous lens and these instantaneous belief systems are not actually biblical. Now, I'm not saying that we shouldn't have radical faith for things to happen when we pray. We absolutely should pray full of faith and deeply convicted in our belief. I personally always pray full of faith for what I'm asking God for in the moment.

And also, I want to encourage you that just because a thing you have been praying, contending for, fighting for, declaring, and believing for hasn't happened yet does not always mean that you don't have enough faith or that you are doing something wrong. Sometimes promises from God are like seeds. Sometimes time is required for it to grow until due time for its fruition. We see this in the parable of the seed being sown into different kinds of soil in Matthew 13.

It talks about the word of God which contains the promises of God bearing fruit. Obviously, a seed bearing fruit takes time to root, to germinate, and to grow. And obviously, Jesus knew that and was very intentional in choosing that imagery for his teaching. Patience and perseverance are continually repeated subjects and highly valued character traits in the Bible for a reason.

Another example is a parable of the persistent widow in Luke 18. She kept coming and asking over and over again, and she only got what she was asking for after her perseverance in petitioning. That parable ends with verse 8 saying, "I tell you, he will see that they get justice and quickly. However, when the Son of Man comes, will he find faith on the earth?" The kind of persistent and perseverance faith that the widow had throughout the injustice she was facing is what Jesus himself qualified as faith.

And he qualified it as a kind of faith that he is searching for on the earth. It's almost as if he is saying, "Real faith stands the test of time." Why would Jesus say this unless he knew that a lot of things we would need to have faith for in this world wouldn't be instantaneous? That we would need perseverance throughout periods of time until they happened. In this teaching, we can also see that in this world, God gave people free will.

And that free will can be a reason for the delay of what you are praying and believing for. This is a great example. The justice the widow was petitioning for had the variables of both her wicked oppressor's free will and the worldly judge's free will. Sometimes, the delay are facing is due to other people's free will, that God gave them.

Sometimes, it has nothing to do with you. This world is fallen and broken in so many ways, and there are countless reasons, other than just not having enough faith or doing something wrong, you, that we could possibly not get immediate results for what we are believing and standing in faith for. Jesus knew not everything would be instantaneous, even if we personally had all the faith in the world and did everything right, for so many different reasons. That's why he gives us context for that in scripture, because he knew we would need persistence in asking and petitioning like the widow.

So, if you are contending for your promise and trying to keep faith, I encourage you, friend, keep asking, keep petitioning. You could be one petition away from being granted what you are praying and believing for. If this word resonated with you, the links for my one-on-one coaching and mentorship program is in the caption below, and the links to sow into this prophetic word and my ministry invitation links are also in the caption. And don't forget to like and share this for those that need the encouragement.