Waiting with Faith and Hope

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew 7:7-8

Have you been praying for something specific and you feel that God is not answering your prayer? I have been in that situation more than once. Right now, I have a special intention that I have been praying for about ten years, and I feel like God is not listening. Sometimes, I feel like just giving up. I have prayed novenas and rosaries. I have written letters to Him about it. I have offered masses. And yet, my request continues to go unanswered.

I don’t feel like I’m praying for anything selfish. It’s not even a prayer for me. It’s a prayer request for someone that has become a lost sheep. I’m praying for something specific that I feel would help this person have a closer relationship with God. And yet, I feel that the more I pray, the farther apart God gets. It’s like my prayer is pushing this lost sheep in the opposite direction. And if God doesn’t come to the rescue soon, it may be too late to save the sheep.

I keep asking God, what more can I do for You to do something? All I can do is continue to pray, and wait for Him to answer with faith and hope. What would I do without hope? All good things come from hope, so without it, we have nothing. Hope is the anticipation of God doing something good for you and for others. The Bible says “hope is the spring for faith and love” (Colossians 1:5). Also, “hope is an anchor for your soul” (Hebrews 6:19). To hope in God is to trust that even in your trials God is truly bringing good to you — in your life, character, and eternity. But we need eyes of faith to see this spiritual reality.

Therefore, even though God is taking His sweet time to answer my prayer, I know that He is still doing good in my life. He wants me to persevere, and to continue knocking at His door. He tells us: “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7).

I will continue to ask, seek, and knock as I look forward to the future with faith and hope. I trust that He will answer my prayer in His time, not mine. And I hope that you continue to persevere in your own prayer even when you feel that God is not listening.

Copyright © 2022 Christy Romero. All rights reserved.