Patience and prayer

My women's small group just finished up "The Power of a Praying Woman." In the last chapter Stormie Omartian writes a wrap-up letter of encouragement and inspiration. There were two paragraphs that jumped out at me.

"Don't be discouraged if things don't happen as far as you would like them to. They never do. God wants you to learn patience. Our perspective is temporal. His is eternal. So don't be concerned if your are not seeing all that you want in response to your prayers. You will. If you draw close to God and do what He asks you to do, if you worship Him in spirit and truth, if you love others and give of yourself to them, if you speak God's Word in faith and pray, you will see God's blessings poured out on your life.

I believe that we are denied certain things for a time because God wants us to fervently pray and intercede for them. That's because He wants to do something great in response to our prayers. Do you remember how Hannah prayed long and fervently for a child (I Sam. 1:1-28)? When God finally answered her prayer, it wasn't just any child who was born. Samuel was one of the world's greatest prophets and most influential judges in Israel's history. If she had not prayed so fervently, that might not have happened. There may be things that won't happen in your life unless you are praying that long and fervently too."

So once again the "P" word (patience) crops up. I wish I'd hurry up and learn all I'm supposed to learn about it so I can move on... :)