God has not promised to answer every prayer by sundown. Here's old Simeon who has been praying all of his life for the Messiah to come. Watching, waiting, and praying.

Some of you are waiting on children. Rearing children is like planting seed. You plant the seed. The seeds are out of sight for a while. You don't know if the seed will ever sprout, grow, and produce fruit. You have to wait.

You plant the seeds in your children's lives. Then you wait.

A guide who has helped many groups ride rafts down swift rivers said that a guide has to always be thinking "down river." He has to know where the white water is. He has to plan for crisis times. Those riding the raft just look at the scenery, but the guide must always be thinking "down river."

And parents must always be thinking "down river" as they relate to their children. Parents often must pray and wait.

I thank God that a lot of people waited on me. I'm glad they didn't write me off on the numerous occasions when I deserved it.

How about you? Are you a good waiter?

What are you waiting on today? Are you waiting for the door of opportunity to open on your job? Are you waiting for the right person to come along to marry? Are you waiting until graduation? Are you waiting until retirement?

Are you a good waiter?

II. Waiting Is Demanding.

Waiting is not easy. Waiting may bring pain.

Simeon was waiting for the "consolation of Israel"; that is, he was waiting for the "comfort of Israel." That is the way the people of Israel thought of the coming of the Messiah. It would be a time when the Messiah would bring "comfort" to Israel.

Israel had known days of sorrow and suffering. They longed for the coming of the Messiah. Waiting for Him was a painful experience.

Waiting will try you and test you. Life has a lot of bumps and bruises along the way.

Slowing down and waiting is not always easier. Sometimes it is harder. A cartoon showed two dogs. One of the dogs had a huge, swollen nose. The one with the swollen nose was saying to the other, "If you stop to smell the roses, be sure to check for bees."

Slowing down and waiting is difficult. Waiting makes great demands of you.

Waiting demands patience. Patience has been defined as "the ability to idle your motor when you feel like stripping your gears."3

That's a good definition. Patience is needed in life. Patience is a mark of maturity in the Christian life.

Children are notoriously impatient. "When will my birthday be?" "How many more miles until we get there?" Next month seems like an eternity to a child. One of the surest signs of growing maturity in a child is greater patience.

It works the same in the Christian life. The more mature a person is, the more patient that person will be. Patience means getting in step with God's timing for our lives.

Margaret Deland wrote a novel in which a father and a son owned a ship. The son was eager to put one of the new steam engines in the old sail ship. The old captain had some reservations about doing that. He said to his son, "The wind, that's God's engine." The boy replied, "I like steam best. God is tejious."4