Most people would agree that the internet has simplified our lives. We live in an age where we can order our dinner or groceries online and have them ready for immediate pickup or have them delivered to our home.
Literally anything from couches to computers, makeup to mattresses – you name it – everything can be bought online and delivered to you without leaving your house. Most of the time after you “Buy it now” you are given a tracking number so you can monitor the progress of your soon-to-be delivered package. The tracking number allows you to follow your purchase from the moment it is shipped until delivery.
Depending on how important your purchase is to you – it can be tempting to obsess a little bit when waiting for something you really need, like a new computer battery or vitamins or medications that can’t be bought anywhere else.
With a few keystrokes we can see what time our package left the Amazon warehouse near us or in Taiwan. We can track the exact route it is taking to find its way to us.
I started thinking about how handy that tracking function would be when praying for a very specific need. Oh – if only God would let us track the prayer progress for the salvation of a relative we’re trying to pray into heaven.
It would be so comforting for God to say, “The miracle for your friend’s cancer is currently being held in heaven but should arrive at its destination before noon next Saturday!”
Praying for patience in a difficult situation would no longer keep you tied up in knots if Jesus simply sent you an alert saying your patience is in route and will be here on October 10th, 2023.
I realize this is all a pipe dream as God doesn’t work that way. God is not a genie granting wishes. The Lord is not a vending machine that allows us to deposit a prayer and pull a lever and get exactly what we want, when we want it.
Prayer requires us to walk in faith and trust that God always knows the outcome of things well in advance. He will only answer our prayers according to His Will and in His timing.
“What is faith? It is the confident assurance that something we want is going to happen. It is the certainty that what we hope for is waiting for us, even though we cannot see it up ahead.” Hebrews 11:1 (NLT)
While “confident assurance” and “the certainty that we hope for” is not as precise as an Amazon tracking number, these are biblical truths that remind us that God sees us, hears our prayers and is working in our lives.
Are you “tracking” a prayer request? Turn your needs over to God; engage your faith and walk in the peace that passes all understanding. With Jesus, you can rest in confidence that He is always, now and forever keeping track of your every need!
Blessings in Christ, Kathy K.
