Do you feel like you pray and pray and nothing seems to change? Has God put a dream in your heart and you feel like you are making either no movement at all or crawling forward one tiny step at t time? Don’t despair and don't give up. Believe me, I have been there, too! But through it all I’ve learned that part of the process of becoming who God wants me to be is learning to pray. In those times when I feel like I am making no progress, I’ve realized that I have been learning to go to God for what I need in order to make progress. When I feel like I am crawling forward, I become most aware that I don’t have it within myself to do the thing God has placed in my heart. Even so, my tendency is to try to make it happen. Maybe it’s yours, too.  Our inability to do so is proved by the lack of movement. Those times are perfectly designed to keep us looking to God for wisdom and guidance. When the dream seems out of reach it keeps us dependent on Him. 

If you are in one of those times right now, let me encourage you that more is happening than you realize. It may seem like you are making no movement, and you may not be on the outside, but God is doing an important work on the inside. You are learning that prayer fuels your journey. So, here are a few things you can do to keep that fuel going. 

Ask God for what you need and what you want, but recognize the difference. God will always give you what you really need, and often will also give you what you want. When you can recognize the difference, you won’t be as disappointed when you don't get what you want and you will see His hand of goodness in receiving what you need. When you do get what you want it will fill your heart with deep gratitude because you will receive it as His loving gift. 

For many years it was the desire of my heart that we would own our own home. During the three and a half years when we lived with my parents it seemed an unreachable dream. Even when we moved out and lived in a nice townhouse apartment, owning our own home seemed like a fantasy. But finally the time came and we began the process of looking to buy a house! God put the details into place, including a financial gift that made it possible. 

 During our search for a house I had a prayer list of things I wanted. I asked for a location that was not far out of the way but that still had some privacy. I asked that it would meet the needs of my family. I asked God for a level driveway. Some friends had a driveway that was a steep hill and I knew that I didn’t want that! I asked for a mud room. My kids were young and I wanted them to have a place to leave their dirt!

The house we found in our affordable price range met everything I had asked God for, but it also had something that I had not put on the list. It had central air conditioning! I hadn’t seen that as a need, and, even though I wanted it,  hadn’t even asked for it, but God blessed us with it. What a gift! For fourteen years we lived in that house. My children grew up there and I will always remember it as an answer to prayer as well as a beautiful gift. Don’t hesitate to ask God for specifics, but hold them loosely and let Him do the choosing. 

Seek God first and the dream after. What are you looking for? God’s hand or God Himself? The thing about delays is that they invite evaluation. They cause us to question ourselves, what we are seeking and why we are seeking it. When you are waiting, all the questions rise to the surface. You wonder what you really should be waiting for. You ask, “Should I even be looking for that thing that is in my heart?” Ultimately, what God wants us to be seeking is Himself, not his gifts to us, not the thing we think we need or want, not even the dream of what we believe He has called us to do, but only relationship with Him. 

If you are in a season of waiting, receive that as a gift. God has given you the opportunity to seek Him in an uncluttered way. I can say that the times when I have felt furthest from doing all that I felt God had called me to do were also the times when I grew closest to God.  I wouldn’t go back and undo any of it, although it was difficult at the time. Don’t miss what God is doing in the now. He is drawing you close through the waiting. 

Knock on doors to see if they will open.  Waiting doesn’t mean doing absolutely nothing. In the waiting you are asking for God’s presence and guidance. You are seeking to build your relationship with Him. And you are looking for the opportunity to step into that next thing that He is guiding you to. Waiting means that you are actively looking for the timing to move forward, while not missing the blessing of now. It’s tricky,  but it is possible. 

Think of it this way.  You ask for directions to a place because you don't know how to get there. As you follow the directions you are seeking the location. When you arrive you knock at the door to make sure you are in the right place. When the door opens it confirms that you have arrived at your destination.  

If you ask God the way, and follow His directions in seeking your destination, then knocking on the opportunity Hie opens to you is the next step. When the door opens you will find yourself in the place where He is. Isn’t that where you really want to be? You may not in the middle of what you imagined, but you will be in the place where He is, where He is at work. The difficulty will be patiently following God’s guidance and not knocking on doors too soon. That is why you stay connected to Him in prayer, asking and seeking along the way. 

Dear One, your future is in the hands of the Lord. You can't plan without His guidance and help. Whatever your goal, don’t go without Him. Think of prayer like the water in your backpack. It fuels your journey because prayer is what connects you to God, your source of life. Our bodies can’t live without water and our spiritual lives can’t live without prayer. Prayer is the language of relationship with God. It involves talking to Him and listening to Him, but most of all it involves being with Him. It is in the being with Him that we find the strength, peace, clarity and focus that we need in order to move forward in the details of our lives and in order to accomplish that dream that God has put within us. Your relationship with God is the most important part of the journey. Achieving things will feel wonderful, but the sweetness of the relationship along the way is what is most satisfying. 

If things are happening slowly in your life it may be that what God is doing is giving you time to learn to rely on Him for the movement. He may be inviting you to trust  Him to make it happen so that when things speed up you are already in the habit of looking to Him, looking for Him and looking for His Hand at work, of asking, seeking and knocking. 

Key thought: Ultimately, God wants you more than what you do. Prayer keeps you connected to Him. 

A Scripture to consider: “Keep on asking, and you will receive what you ask for. Keep on seeking, and you will find. Keep on knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks, receives. Everyone who seeks, finds. And to everyone who knocks, the door will be opened.” Matthew‬ ‭7:7-8‬ ‭NLT‬‬

A YES Challenge: Take some time know to just be in God’s presence. Try not to fill your time with asking, but make your goal seeking relationship with Him. Write down some of the dreams that God has put in your heart. During your time with Him envision yourself placing those dreams in His hands and trusting Him to make them happen. 

Prayer: Father, the way to what I feel You have called me to do seems so clouded right now. It is hard to imagine it actually happening. In this time of waiting help me to keep asking You for guidance and seeking You, Your presence, Your strength throughout. I will trust You to open the right doors at the right time as I ask, seek and knock. Amen.