There was this course in school I really didn’t want to carry over. I studied, I prayed, and I even asked friends and pastors to agree with me. I was sure God would show me mercy as His child. But I still carried the course. I couldn’t pray it away. Yet, in that process, I saw God’s faithfulness. It didn’t make me bitter. It made me better.
Friend, don’t waste your wilderness. The truth is, not everything can be prayed away. The first step in prayer is not to talk at God but to align with God. Prayer is not gymnastics or trying to wear heaven out with requests. Prayer is enforcing the revealed will of God (Matthew 6:10). To pray against His will is to kick against the pricks (Acts 9:5).
There are things God will not take you from. He will take you through them (Matthew 26:39). Divine processes cannot be boycotted. You can only ask for grace to grow through them. A pregnant woman can long for her baby, but she cannot skip the 9 months. That’s not a problem. That’s a process (James 1:4).
Many people have shrunk below their destiny because they kept trying to escape the process. What if Joseph prayed away prison? He would never have become prime minister (Genesis 41:9-46). What if Daniel avoided the lion’s den? Babylon would never have seen God’s power (Daniel 6:1-28).
What if Hannah had a child on her own timeline? She would have had a baby, but not Samuel the prophet (1 Samuel 1:19-28). What if Paul never went to prison? We might not have half the New Testament (Philippians 1:12-20). In your waiting season, anchor yourself in God’s love (Romans 8:35-39).
The wilderness feels hard, but it’s not to trap you. It is to test you and prepare you for the Promised Land (Deuteronomy 8:1-3, 1 Peter 4:12-14). It’s to grow you to the point where you can carry what you are asking for. God’s will may not always look good, but it is always good.
‘Demola Awoyele
Lead Pastor,
Destiny Impact Church
Akure, Nigeria