| Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful in it with thanksgiving; |
| —Colossians 4:2 RSV |
How many pots do you have simmering at the moment? Oh, I don’t mean literal pots on your stove. I’m referring to the “spiritual pots” of your unanswered prayers. Cooking professional, James Peterson, says this about “simmering”: 1
Unlike the French, who are gifted with a vocabulary that describes the stages of a liquid about to boil—(such asfremir, which means to tremble or shake)—we have no equivalent words to describe variations in simmering. But for most purposes, a “simmer” is the stage when the water is in motion but almost no bubbles break the surface; they’re trying to, but the water’s surface tension holds them in place.
Some days, when we spend time in prayer, we feel that God will break through with an answer at any time. We feel we can almost see the “bubbles” on the surface. Yet sometimes, when we have laid our petitions before the Lord for many weeks and months, there comes a time when our “simmering liquid of prayer” seems at the point of “boiling dry.” We become tired of praying for the same things and begin to feel as if we have lost our zeal. We find ourselves at the point of giving up. Yet God’s written Word encourages us to hold on and to not give up. Notice this instruction from Hebrews 6:12:
… imitate those who through faith and patience inherit what has been promised.
We simply cannot rush God’s sovereign plan for us, and His plan for those for whom we pray. He knows just how long the “simmering process” must continue.
The verse at the beginning of this blog post tells us to watch the “simmering pot of prayer”—and be thankful while doing so—believing that God will answer according to His will, and also because of His incredibly all-knowing love for us. He has a feast planned for us that requires the long, slow-cooking process.
When we are tempted to feel that God isn’t listening to our prayers, we must know that He watches over us with pleasure as we “watch” for His answers and wait on Him. He smells the fragrance of our prayers. He sees and knows the best time to bring that “dish” to completion. With great anticipation, let us thank Him for His amazingly wonderful answers, even before we see any indication of them!
| 1 Peterson, James. Sauces: Classical and Contemporary Sauce Making, Fourth Edition. Harvest Books/HarperCollins Publishers, 2017. Please note that in each case, whenever citation of any Copyrighted material is made within a post on this blog, such citation is made strictly for Educational Fair Use illustration purposes only. All Rights Reserved by the original Copyright Holder. |
