I heard a TV preacher years ago give a message about answered prayer. He said God answers prayer in three ways: yes, no, and wait.  Oh my, that third answer--I'd almost rather hear "no." Patience is a fruit of the spirit, but one I have to cultivate a little more than the others.

"On one occasion, while [Jesus] was eating with [the disciples], He gave this command: 'Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard Me speak about. For John baptized with water, but in a few days you will be baptized with the Holy Spirit.' So when they met together, they asked Him, 'Lord, are you at this time going to restore the kingdom to Israel?' He said to them, 'It is not for you to know the times or the dates the Father has set by His own authority. But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit comes on you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, and in all Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.' After He said this, He was taken up before their very eyes, and a cloud hid Him from their sight. They were looking intently up into the sky as He was going, when suddenly two men dressed in white stood beside them.  'Men of Galilee,' they said, 'why do you stand here looking into the sky? This same Jesus, who has been taken from you into heaven will come back in the same way you have seen Him go into heaven'" (Acts 1:4-11).  After all they had been through with Jesus, after all they had seen and heard and been a part of, the disciples still didn't get it.  They were still looking for the restoration of a physical kingdom of Israel.  Instead of an answer, Jesus gave them a command--Wait!  They needed the impartation of the Holy Spirit to understand what Jesus had really accomplished--not the restoration of an earthly nation, but the opening of a heavenly nation to all who would come to Christ.  Until the Holy Spirit came, that was still beyond the comprehension of the disciples, so they had to have patience until they were equipped to understand.  They had to wait.

Ecclesiastes 3 says, "To everything there is a season and a time to every purpose under heaven . . .I have seen the burden God has laid on men. He has made everything beautiful in its time. He has also set eternity in the hearts of men; yet they cannot fathom what God has done from beginning to end" (1, 10-12).  Part of our human dilemma is that we are eternal beings placed in time constraints. One of the best explanations I have ever heard for this is that "we are not human beings having a spiritual experience, but we are spiritual beings having a human experience." We are "strangers and pilgrims on this earth" according to Hebrews. So we wait.

The scriptures encourage us. "I am confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord" (Psalm 27:13-14); "Wait for the Lord and keep His way. He will exalt you to inherit the land; when the wicked are cut off, you will see it" (Psalm 37:34); "Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; He rises to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for Him" (Isaiah 30:18); "But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me" (Micah 7:7); "'Therefore wait for me,' declares the Lord, 'for the day I will stand up to testify' . . . The Lord your God is with you, He is mighty to save. He will take great delight in you, He will quiet you with His love, He will rejoice over you with singing . . . 'I will rescue the lame and gather those who have been scattered . . . At that time I will gather you; at that time I will bring you home. I will give you honor and praise among the peoples of the earth when I restore your fortunes before your very eyes'" (Zeph. 3:8-20 selective). God does not neglect to answer the prayers of His children. Sometimes He says "yes," sometimes He says "no," sometimes He says "wait," and whatever the answer, it is always for our good because He loves us.

Even Jesus Himself had to operate in patience from time to time.  At the wedding in Cana when Mary called upon Him for a miracle, Jesus answered her "Dear Woman, why do you involve me? My time has not yet come." (Jesus was a good son and He did come to the aid of His mother and friends, but one can sense His reserve.) "The right time for me has not yet come; for you any time is right. The world cannot hate you, but it hates me because I testify that what it does is evil. You go to the feast. I am not yet going up to this feast, because for me the right time has not yet come" (John 7:6-8). Imagine how hard it must have been for Jesus, tempted in all ways as we are, to keep to Himself all that He was and all that He knew. Imagine how He anticipated the cross, how many times He must have wanted just to hurry up and get it over with. Imagine even further, how He now patiently waits for the day when He will return to claim His bride, a time not even Jesus knows! "No one knows about that day or hour, not even the angels in heaven, nor the Son, but only the Father" (Matt. 24:36 and Mk. 13:32). Until that time He commands us to "Be on guard! Be alert! Keep watch!" Wait!

"'Behold, I am coming soon! My reward is with me, and I will give to everyone according to what he has done. I am the Alpha and the Omega, the First and the Last, the Beginning and the End. Blessed are those who wash their robes, that they may have the right to the tree of life and may go through the gates into the city. Outside are the dogs, those who practice magic arts, the sexually immoral, the murderers, the idolaters and everyone who practices falsehood. I, Jesus, have sent my angel to give you this testimony for the churches. I am the Root and the Offspring of David, and the bright Morning Star.' The Spirit and the bride say, 'Come!' And let him who hears say, 'Come!' Whoever is thirsty, let him come; and whoever wishes, let him take the free gift of the water of life . . . 'Yes, I am coming soon.'" (Rev. 22:12-17, 20b). 

Lord Jesus, we wait. Help us not to "grow weary in doing good," staying certain that "at the proper time we will reap a harvest if we do not give up." Grant us the fruit of patience in our lives, knowing that You also are patient, particularly with us, and we want to be like You. Even so, come Lord Jesus. Amen