We live in an instant gratification world. We want it and we want it now! And some things in life perpetuate that proclivity. For instance, when you order something from Amazon.com, you select exactly what you want, drop it in the cart and for an annual fee, you can become a “Prime” member and get your packages delivered for free, and in some cases, the next day!

Wouldn’t it be nice if our prayer life worked that way?

As believers and followers of Jesus Christ, when we pray for someone or about something, the answer does not always come on our timetable or in the way we want. God does not have “Prime” members and non-prime members. You are a member of His family or you are not. There is no annual fee and God welcomes new members every day (Romans 10:9). He is no respecter of persons. His children are all equal at the foot of the cross of his Son Jesus Christ.

The truth is – God is never late but we seldom think He is early.

Maybe you’ve been praying for someone or something for a long time and you feel God is late or you feel He is not hearing or answering your prayers. The thing is, answered prayers are not only those prayers that get answered with a “yes.” Sometimes the answer to our prayer is “wait” or “no,” because the prayer we are praying at the time is not in line with God’s perfect plan.

We read in the Bible, “Now this is the confidence that we have in Him, that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us. And if we know that He hears us, whatever we ask, we know that we have the petitions that we have asked of Him” (1 John 5:14-15). The key to answered prayers is to pray “according to God’s will.” The question is, “Am I praying God’s will over that person or that situation or am I seeking my own will?”

God invites us to pray and ask for what we want in prayer. “You have not because you ask not” (James 4:3). But we must ultimately be surrendered to God’s perfect will over our own.

Jesus, when He was in agony in the Garden before His crucifixion, cried out to the Father, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from Me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as You will” (Matthew 26:39). Jesus, Himself, asked for what He wanted at that moment … to avoid the torturous experience of being crucified and separated from God the Father. Jesus knew the excruciating agony He was about to experience. But He surrendered, ultimately, to the Father’s sovereign will over what He wanted in that moment.

We often pray for things that we want “in the moment” and God does not answer our prayer with a “yes.” But how many times can we look back and admit that we are thankful He didn’t? The thing to remember is that God knows what is “best” for us and for those whom we pray and He is always seeking to bring about His “best” plans for our lives (Jeremiah 29:11).

We may never understand all the “whys” of unanswered prayers or prayers that are not answered as we desire, especially those that seem right and good as far as we can see. But God’s Word calls us to “walk by faith (in God) and not by sight” (2 Corinthians 5:7). We are instructed to “Trust in the Lord in all your heart and lean not on your own understanding, but in all your ways, acknowledge Him, and He will make our path straight” (Proverbs 3:5-6).

The Christian life is not like Amazon, and thank God, there is no annual fee for us to pay to become a member of His family. Jesus has already covered that fee for anyone who desires to become a child of God. And no matter how or when God answers our prayers, it is always according to His will, and it is always – on time!

Lisa Hannan lives in Valdosta with her husband, attorney Miles Hannan, who has been practicing law in Valdosta for more than 30 years. She has a B.S. in psychology from Valdosta State University. You can find her at www.lisahannan.org.