An Acceptable Time

"But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time". Psalm 69:13

Prayers are usually divided into two groups; prayers that are according to the will of God and prayers that are not. In this passage, David suggests a third. He says there may be prayers which are not according to the will of God today but will be tomorrow. There is, according to David, "an acceptable time" for certain prayers.

He does not mean that there is an acceptable time for praying. "Praying always", is a command (Eph. 6:18). But in this text, we see that the limitation is not resting on the petition but the timing.

Some things asked for are good, just not now. When I was young and on the farm, I asked my dad for a pocketknife. There was nothing wrong with asking. I saw how useful one was for him. Cutting binder twine, a rope, or whittling some wood. But as a nine-year-old, I was more likely to cut my finger than the rope. I thought he said “no”.  What he said was, "not now". And on my 10th birthday he gave me a pocketknife he bought right after my request. What was at first refused, was stored up for me in safety, awaiting the time it would do me good, not harm. I asked at an unacceptable time. "But as for me, my prayer is unto thee, O LORD, in an acceptable time".

You see, there are special seasons for answered prayer. Many asks for things in April that can only be given in August. Think of the Apostle Paul. Immediately after his conversion he prayed for a commission, "Lord, what wouldst Thou have me to do?" He was answered by being sent into the dessert. Was his prayer denied? No, it was postponed. He had asked at an unacceptable time. He had desired, in April, the fruits of August. He was not ripe for a mission. He was ripe to learn patience.

So, the believer must learn that a Spring-time prayer may not be answered until Summer, or Fall, or even the Winter of life. At these times it seems as if God has forgotten to be gracious. But we need to rest, knowing, that, at times, the thing we have asked for is not forgotten, only delayed. “Now” is not always the acceptable time for green pastures and still waters. Sometimes the thorn and the thistle are needed. Yet the acceptable time is coming. For He will withhold no good thing from His children (Psalm 84). So dear one, “Wait on the LORD: be of good courage, and he shall strengthen thine heart: wait, I say, on the LORD” (Psalm 27:14).