Psalm 27:14, New King James Version

"Wait on the Lord; Be of good courage, And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the Lord!”

In America, fast almost always trumps quality. We are a nation of instant gratification. We don’t like long lines or long waits. And, sadly, this impatience spills over to how we view God and prayer.

Unfortunately, I am a microwave- type of person. I want instant answers, and He delivers slow ones. I live by the stopwatch, and He lives by the calendar. For Him one thousand years are like a day, and for me, waiting a day feels like a thousand year.

So, which is better, the microwave or the crockpot? We all know the answer, even if we hate to admit it. We don’t serve a microwave God, but a slow cooker-God.

Waiting on God is a slow, meticulous and painstaking process. But it is also how God teaches us how to live for Him and lean on Him. The good news is that He always cooks just the right answer at just the right temperature in just the right way. Even though we may want things now, genuine spiritual growth, character development, and answered prayers almost always require a slow, deliberate "seasoning process.” Just as a slow cooker takes time to blend flavors and make meat fall off the bone, God is patient, meticulous, and purposeful with your life

Think of it this way: Microwaved food can be hot on the outside but still cold in the center. In the same way, a "microwave blessing" might give you a temporary thrill, but true maturity requires a slow-cooked transformation of the heart. God takes the time necessary to make sure the final result is perfect.

Not only do His long-awaited answers to our prayers always “taste” better, but we are transformed in the process. Our faith muscle is strengthened, our prayer life is deepened, our sense of God’s presence grows, and our need for instant-satisfaction shrinks.

We have to remember that the waiting period is not wasted time. Every dry season and period of pressure is being stirred together for your ultimate good, strengthening your faith in the process. Refusing to rush the process and trusting God's calendar over your stopwatch allows His work to develop fully. 

No matter what you are going through right now, learn to wait on the Lord, no matter how long He takes to answer.