It is always exciting when we get to begin a new year. A new year brings with it new opportunities that we must seize. Sometimes I feel like the Apostle Paul when he said in Phil. 3:13, "...forgetting those things which are behind, and reaching forth unto those things which are before."
For some, the end of 2011 brought them to the close of a year full of heartache and troubles. For some, they are still waiting on God to answer prayers they were praying in 2011. Why is it that God seems to delay in answering our prayer? Well, if your prayer has not been answered yet, you are not alone. This very thing happened in John 11 when Lazarus died and Jesus seemed to delay in coming to the rescue with the desired answer they were praying for.
The Bible says in John 11:5-6, "Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When he had heard therefore that he was sick, he abode two days still in the same place where he was."
So, a family member had died but this was not just any family member. This was a close friend of Jesus. I'm sure they felt that Jesus would quickly drop everything He was doing and rush to prevent this great friend from dying. What they didn't realize was that Jesus had a greater plan in mind. When they prayed, all they got was silence. But what they didn't understand was that sometimes God's silences ARE His answers!
Think about it. It takes much more faith to trust Him when we CAN'T see Him working but the reward can be experiencing a greater revelation from God. Not everyone got to see Jesus raise their loved one from the dead, but Mary and Martha did!
So, the question for us is this...can God trust us with His silence? Does God know we will trust Him no matter what, or does he know that we have to know every little detail before we will trust Him...which, by the way, is not really trust.
Has God been silent with you lately? Just keep praying. Keep on trusting. Keep on believing that God is doing something wonderful behind the scenes that he will reveal in His own time.