God's delays are not God's denials, is a well-known antidote for the impatience and despair that can sometimes accompany prayer. It is meant to put our human angst in perspective. Not all longing is instantly fulfilled by prayer, traditional or affirmative. Here is a reminder that if we turn to the Source of life for healing and solutions, for comfort and reassurance, we move outside the framework of society's calendar and clock. That does not mean that urgent need cannot be met by prayer, but that, again, prayer is a process of change, and we are the one that changes.
When we are on a lake in a small rowboat and want to change direction, it's fairly simple. We shift the angle of the boat with our oar and row toward our destination. But if we are on a huge cruise ship or massive battleship, in the ocean with choppy seas, you are not going to turn that ship quickly, The intricate measurements involved in steering such a vessel, the timing and speed, must integrate with the force of wind and water to turn safely. With prayer, the choppy sea is a metaphor for our own shifting emotions and thoughts, our confusion and fear, our resentments and pain, our desires, our conflicts and sense of separation from life, from ourselves, from each other and from God, or the spiritual level.
This seems particularly significant right now, as we find the Covid-19 virus rapidly surging across the country and many places face significant set backs in what a few weeks ago seemed to be progress. Sometimes it may feel that you are in that row boat alone in your longing, frustration and fear. But this is illusion. We are all on this ship with our neighbors, our city, our country and indeed, the world. When you can't find your light or your peace, rest assured that someone also on that ship holds it for you. Someone (more than one, really) will hold your peace, until you find it again. (Susan Nettleton)