Our Heavenly Judge will not delay long over His elect, but He will delay. In fact, God’s definition of “speedily” and ours are not always synonymous. The Lord incorporates delays into His overall plan: Delays work perseverance in us. So Crucial is endurance to our character development that God is willing to delay even important answers to prayer to facilitate our transformation.
Thus, we should not interpret divine delays as a sign of divine reluctance. Delays are tools to perfect our faith. Christ is looking to find a tenacity in our faith that prevails in spite of delays and setbacks. He seeks to create a perseverance within us that outlasts the test of time, a resolve that actually grows stronger during delays. When the Father see this quality of persistence in our faith, it so touches His heart that He grants “legal protection” to His people.