Delayed Answers Mean . . .
Perhaps you have heard of the young lady from the Bible named Hannah?  I recently read the story.   She was married to a great guy named Elkanah.  However Hannah was a sad wife because she was unable to have children.  Elkanah had another wife (that was how they rolled).  Her name was Peninah and she had many children.  And she was a jerk about it to Hannah.  I can see her smirk now when she would look at Hannah while playing outside with her kids.  I imagine those smirks and sarcastic remarks made Hannah really, really angry.  Peninah’s tormenting hurt her deeply.   
 The story goes that Hannah prayed for a child on numerous occasions, but GOD always said, “no.”  She kept asking, but He kept refusing.  And then one day, Hannah pulled out all the stops and she made this vow,
“O Lord Almighty, if You will only look upon Your servant’s misery

and remember me, and not forget Your servant but give her a son,

then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life, and no

razor will ever be used on his head.”  
 You can guess what happened?  GOD gave her a son.  His name was Samuel, which means “heard by GOD”.   Hannah followed through with her vow and when he was three years old, she took him to the Temple and he was raised there by the Temple priests.  And this lad grew up to become a world changer.  He was responsible for shaping the history of the nation of Israel.  He chose & anointed King Saul and King David.  His life had a lasting impact. 
 As I read the story, I realized that delayed answers to prayer often means “immeasurably more”.  The phrase comes from Ephesians 3:20 (& previous blog in January 2012).  GOD is able to do “immeasurably more than we ask or imagine.”  Delayed answers to prayer may indicate that GOD wants to do more than just answer our prayer and meet our need.  He may have something greater in His mind that He wants to do.  In other words, delayed answers may be huge opportunities.  For Hannah, it was just a barren womb and an annoying other wife.  But for GOD, it was an entire nation that would need a man like Samuel.  And a man like Samuel would need a mom like Hannah who would pray with a surrendered heart, “Lord, this child is Yours.  Do w/ him whatever You desire.”
 If you find yourself struggling like Hannah, a heartfelt prayer that keeps getting a delayed answer, then hang in there.  GOD may be up to something you cannot even ask for because you do not know to ask for it.  While the thing you keep asking for is huge, remember that the things GOD is wanting to do is even bigger.  In fact, it is a prayer too big for you to comprehend.