In His Time

Don't be surprised when you pray, particularly if you are praying very hard for something, that you are met with silence. That great, terrible, unmistakeable quiet with only the ticking of the clock as background noise. I'm not sure why this is, but I am noticing it more and more. It's almost as if we are trying too hard- that we are grasping at straws rather than waiting for an answer from Him. It's like waiting on guests to arrive at your home- the more you keep going to the door and checking, the less it seems like anyone will ever arrive. Only when you forget about it and begin doing something else, putting it out of your mind, do you find that suddenly people start arriving. If you are trying to remember something, the worst thing you can do is put all your focus on it. "It's just on the tip of my tongue- but I can't think of it!" Only later, after you've forgotten about it, will the answer come to you. Don't stop praying- but don't expect answers right away either. His voice will come, clearer than you could ever possibly imagine- at a time when you are doing something else- and each time getting clearer and clearer.