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Cross Words: Wait Upon The Lord
If the word “wait” is used anywhere in a movie, I think the film should automatically receive a PG-13 rating. It is a vulgar word, which just by its utterance can inflict emotional and physical pain. Just recently a fast food employee attempted to ruin my Saturday morning by asking me to pull out of line and ?@*! for fresh chicken to be cooked. I thought, “If I can get instant text messaging, instant coffee, and instant checking, why can’t I get an instant chicken biscuit?”
I hate to admit it, but I often carry that same attitude into prayer. I want to place my order with God at the speaker and see him holding my food outside of the pick-up window after I’ve rounded the corner of the building. But God is not a short-order cook. Many of His masterpieces take months and years to prepare.
Zechariah and Elizabeth, the parents of John the Baptist, prayed for years for a child (Luke 1). I’m sure they would have liked for God to have answered their prayer instantly; it would have saved them years of anguish and embarrassment over their sterility. But John the Baptist had to be born at a specific time in history so that  he could fulfill his role as the preacher who would prepare the way for Christ. That meant that Zechariah and Elizabeth had to wait for their prayer to be answered.
Maybe you have been praying for years or even decades over a particular matter. You might have even considered giving up. Don’t! God is waiting for just the right time to fulfill your request, and when He does, the impact will be greater than you can imagine.
P.S.  When my chicken biscuit finally arrived, it was too hot to eat. I’m glad I waited.

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