“Why is it taking so long?”
My 5-year old whimpered, sweat dripping down her forehead. “I kept praying the double decker bus would come, but it’s not coming.”
Her countenance fell, hurt by a certain sense of betrayal.
The sun beat down, merciless.
“Maybe it won’t come, Mama,” she said, voice sunken with dejection.
It was then that I had an epiphany— that was a picture of me as I waited on unanswered prayers— sullen, hopeless, rejected.
Yet, the truth is- the bus IS on its way. We may not be able to see it, but it takes a certain measure of faith knowing that it IS on its way.
“Sweetheart, you can’t see it, but do you believe God is chugging it along, sending your double-decker bus to you? Let me teach you a song.”
With her little arms entwined in mine, we sang, “Even when I don’t see it, You’re working. Even when I don’t feel it, You’re working. You never stop, you never stop working…”
As we sang those words, reminding ourselves of the invisibility yet certainty of FAITH, our bus rolled in, in its full double-deckered glory.
I’m not advocating a “speak-it-and-get-it” mentality, nor do I want to oversimplify the ties between faith and answered prayer. Because sometimes, what we really need to do is to surrender the outcome wholly to God, while STILL holding on.
This is the paradox of deep trust- to let go, and still, hold on.
But I thought nonetheless- what a powerful symbolic demonstration of what our faith, when declared aloud, can do— usher in what we prayed for, even if we’ve been waiting a long time.
If you’re waiting on an unanswered prayer and unsure of the outcome, would you speak faith aloud into your situation? 💛