According to the teaching of Scripture the way to receive things from God is to "Ask, and it shall be given you; seek, and ye shall find; knock, and it shall be opened unto you: For everyone that asketh receiveth; and he that seeketh findeth; and to him that knocketh it shall be opened." (Matt. 7:7&8)
So, the formula is this: Ask = receive. However, there is a problem here. The problem is that many times when we ask we don't receive -- at least not immediately. Why not?
It is because in the law of seed time and harvest there is a missing ingredient that is understood to be a part of the process of receiving. It is the element called 'waiting'.
When you plant a seed, whether it is a seed of faith that God will meet your needs, or an offering given to produce a harvest to meet a need, there is always a time element to be considered. All seed and all asking, seeking and knocking have different time elements attached which are only known by God.
This is Biblical for Ecclesiastes 3:1 says, "To everything there is a season, and a time to every purpose under heaven:" and in verse 17 it says, "I said in mine heart, God shall judge the righteous and the wicked: for there is a time there for every purpose and for every work."
The missing element is waiting. If you plant a seed, you expect a harvest, but you do not expect it immediately, because you know there is a time for each seed to change from a seed into a harvest. Therefore, we don't get anxious when we see nothing the next day. We have confidence the seed is doing its part and in time we will have our harvest.
When we ask God for something, many times when we don't see Him moving RIGHT NOW, we lose faith and hope and figure He said no to our request. However, delay is not denial, it is only the time needed to accomplish the task.
For example, sometimes we need wisdom to do the right thing. The Scripture says, "If any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God, that gives to all men liberally, and upbraideth not; and it shall be given him." (James 1:5) We understand from the reading of the verse that there is an element of time involved, for the writer uses the word 'shall' which denotes two important things:
1. You will get the wisdom you asked for.
2. There will be some time (however brief or long) before we receive the wisdom we asked for.
This should encourage you and help direct your life. It always works when you believe God for anything. God will do what He says He will do -- even if it takes longer than you think it should. Just wait and it will come. Jesus never fails. Some things just take longer than others, but waiting time is not wasted time when you are waiting on God. When the time is right, you will receive, find or have it opened to you, because God's Word does not lie, it just takes time, sometimes, so just wait -- expecting to receive while you wait.
One last note: Remember when Daniel prayed about an item, the angel of the Lord came 3 weeks later with the answer and informed Daniel the answer was given 3 weeks before WHEN HE ASKED, but due to things going on in God's realm, it took that long in our realm to receive the answer, but it was already done 3 weeks before!
Don't give up while you wait, just wait trusting God. He will get it done right on time! That's just the way He is. GO WITH GOD! Warren
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