Acts 1:4-5 – And being assembled together with them, He commanded them not to depart from Jerusalem, but to wait for the Promise of the Father, “which,” He said, “you have heard from Me; for John truly baptized with water, but you shall be baptized with the Holy Spirit not many days from now.”

The apostles were to wait for the coming of the Holy Spirit. Until that event took place, His command was to wait. Waiting is one of the hardest things for us to do these days. Yet it is also something we must do often. We wait in line for our coffee at the coffee shop. We wait in line to buy our groceries at the grocery store. We wait in our car at traffic jams and red lights. With all this waiting you would think we would become more patient. But instead long lines and delays only further fuels our frustrations and adds to our impatience. All of the things we wait for in this life pale in comparison to waiting for the out pouring of the Holy Spirit. What must it have been like for the Apostles as they waited around for days until the Holy Spirit came upon them? Did it make it any easier on them because it was Jesus Himself that commanded them to wait? When God tells you to wait for an answer to your prayer, does that make it any easier for you to wait? Probably not.

Challenge:

God answers prayer generally in three ways. It is either “Yes,” “No” or “Not Right Now.” To be honest with you, a “No” is easier to take than a “Not Right Now.” Wouldn’t you agree? You see, when God says “No,” at the very least you have your answer. When God says, “Not Right Now,” that means you must wait. But now you have to deal with the question of “For how long do I have to wait?” Will it be for an hour, for a day, for a week or for longer? You must realize this fact, that if God says wait, then He has a very good reason. What is God telling you to wait for? What prayer have you prayed and the answer is “Not Right Now”? Your challenge this week is to patiently wait for God’s timing when answering your prayer, providing for your needs or showing you His will. Allow Him to put into place what He knows will be best for you. When He finally answers with a “Yes,” you will discover the answer was well worth the wait and will be even greater than you had imagined in the beginning. God bless you.