Five of our nine adult children have children of their own, ranging in age from 1-21. We have now spent decades in prayer for these grandchildren, beginning even before they were born. This is both a privilege and a challenge. It is a privilege to bring them before the throne of the God of the universe with the promise that He will hear our supplications. 

“This is the confidence which we have before Him,
that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us.
And if we know that He hears us in whatever we ask,
we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him.”
I John 5:14-15, NASB 

But it has also been a significant challenge to remain faithful, hopeful, and persevering over such a long time while awaiting answers even as we are told to “wait for the Lord; be strong and let your heart take courage; yes, wait for the Lord” (Psalm 27:14, NASB).

Recently we received the blessing of seeing one of those long-awaited answers. For a few of our grandchildren with whom we have been allowed limited contact over the years, we had prayed that the Lord would prompt them to reach out to establish a relationship with us when they were old enough to make decisions on their own. We believed that Jesus had given us a three-fold assignment during the mostly silent years: to love them as best as we could whenever we had opportunities, to seek to live our lives as a model of Christ-followers, and to cover our grandchildren in consistent prayer. 

It was difficult not to give up hope and give in to sadness day after day, month after month, year after year. What a blessing and encouragement it was, then, to have our prayers answered when we were recently able to have an adult-to-adult conversation over lunch with one of those grandchildren who is now living independently.

Of course, there are many answers to our long-term prayers which are currently unseen by us. Perhaps they are in progress or awaiting God’s perfect timing to be accomplished or revealed. The beginning of a new year is an appropriate time to renew our courage and consistency in prayer for those we love while we wait patiently and watch expectantly for answers on the horizon. Our God hears us!

“But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.” (Micah 7:7, NASB).