sometimes, the answer comes sooner

I've come to expect answers to prayer (at least answers in the affirmative) to come slowly. I've been praying for a husband for the last 11 years. Still waiting on that one. I've been praying for a friend's salvation (though not as consistently as I should) for six years. About a year ago, she told me she had been reading the Bible I gave her, but as far as I know, she hasn't become a Christian. I've been praying about a health insurance issue for several months. I may know the result by the end of the month.

It's not that I think God can't answer "big" prayers soon, but I often think He won't. In the last week, God has answered two of my recent prayers, and I must admit that I was surprised by both of them.

The first answer to prayer came the day after I asked my Bible study group to pray about it. One of my classes, an advanced reading class, is made up of 10 international students, all juniors and seniors. I absolutely love teaching the class, and I've sensed that my relationship with some of the students might be poised to go outside the classroom. So I asked the girls to pray that I'd have wisdom and opportunities to get to know some of the students on a deeper level. The next day, one girl walked into class talking about how much she wanted a Pooh Bear Latte. And I thought, "Here's the opportunity you've been praying for!" I snagged her after class and asked if she'd like to get coffee after school. Coffee turned into over an hour of really good conversation.

The other answer to prayer took a little longer ... three whole weeks! I asked my Bible study group to pray about my relationship with a girl I've known pretty well for a few years. I had a really good talk with her sometime last month, and I asked her if she'd like to get together on a fairly regular basis. Other than mentioning it in Bible study, I did nothing--I just wasn't sure what we should do; I've never seen myself as a mentor before. Last week, she cornered me in the hallway (she goes to NC) and said we needed to talk ASAP. She came over on Sunday night, and we spent four hours together--drinking coffee (do you see a theme???), watching country YouTube videos, and talking about some really serious stuff.

In both cases, I found myself stunned that God would answer my prayers so immediately ... and humbled by my lack of faith. This experience has taught me that I need to pray believing that God will answer, whether it's with a "yes," "no," or "wait"!