My curiosity compelled me to do the math.  There were 50 days between Passover and Pentecost.  Three days between Passover and Jesus’ resurrection, and 40 days between Jesus’ resurrection and His ascension to heaven.  That leaves a gap of 7 days.

Before He ascended to heaven, Jesus instructed them to return to Jerusalem and wait for “the promise of the Father.”  This was a reference to His teaching concerning the permanent indwelling of the Holy Spirit. (John 14:16) We know what was going on in the upper room during those 7 days – they were “devoting themselves to prayer,” (Acts 1:14) but what was going on from heaven’s viewpoint?  Why did God make them wait seven days before He poured out His Spirit on them?

Travelers from all over the known world would assemble on Jerusalem during the Feast of Pentecost.  When God poured His Spirit into His believers they would speak boldly in testimony to Jesus.  What seemed like a 7-day delay was instead God’s perfect providence positioning His disciples to make a maximum impact.  In fact, we know that on the Day of Pentecost, 3000 people responded to Peter’s extemporaneous street-side sermon about Jesus. (Acts 2:41)  The 7-day wait proved to be perfect timing.

As my thoughts turned to my own prayer life, I thought of how many times I had given up praying for things.  I wrongly assumed that since God did not affirmatively answer my request in a reasonably short amount of time, His answer must be “no.”  In truth, God ALWAYS answers our prayers in one of three ways: yes, no, or not yet.  We often mistake a “not yet” for a “no,” and we give up praying all too soon.

Yet all the while, God’s “not yet” could simply be His omnisciently provident way of setting the stage for doing something even beyond the wildest imagining of my comparatively timid prayer life.  Maybe God is using the interim between my request and His delivery to set up something so great that He gets the glory in it.  (Ephesians 3:20-21)

So, fellow disciple, will you join me in renewing our commitment to persistent prayer?  We give up too soon and too easily.  Jesus told a story that made a hero out of woman who hounded a judge until he gave her what she wanted.  He compared that to the benefit of persistent prayer. (Luke 18:1-8)

Lord, help me “always to pray and not lose heart.”  I may have to wait 7 days, 7 months, 7 years, or any amount of time, but if I pray through, I too will receive what God wants to give me.