PRAYERS ANSWERED AFTER LONG DELAY
The early church went through persecution from Jews and Romans. There must be members of the persecuted and suffering church felt like their prayers were in vain and that they were not getting justice on time. However, they had to persist in faith, hope, and charity. Their perseverance was necessary for the survival of the church. They had to defend their faith until their death or until the second coming of Christ. God would do justice and bring peace in time. It happened with a divine intervention when the Christian persecution in the Roman empire ended through the conversion and reformation of the Emperor Constantine in 312 A.D.
There are people who pray for a long time for the conversion of their spouse, child, or anyone dear to them. They might wonder why God delays in answering prayers for a worthy cause. St. Monica persisted in her prayer for around 17 years for the conversion of her son Augustine and her pagan husband Patricius. Finally, God answered the prayer and even raising her and her son as saints.
A Canaanite woman in Matthew 15:21-28 kept on seeking the mercy of Jesus, and she got it. A sick person at the Bethesda pool waited 38 years for a divine intervention without losing hope and he got healing from Jesus (Jn 5:1-15). A woman who had hemorrhage continued treatment and prayer for her healing for twelve years (Mk 25:5-34). Jesus healed her after that long delay. During the public ministry of Jesus, he answered the long-awaited prayers of sick people. His second coming would provide consolation for all who are suffering now.
REFLECTION
There are people who lose faith because of tragic events in life or because they did not get an answer for their prayers. God had tested righteous people like Noah, Job, Abraham, and others who had no child for a long period. They all later found that God was testing them and they later gained grace from God. Let our faith be like a house built on rock and not on sand as Jesus taught us (Mt 7:24-27).