Perhaps
“…perhaps he will lighten his hand on you…”
These words, uttered by pagan priests, contained a high degree of wisdom. These priests did not believe in, nor worshipped the Lord, but they recognized his majesty and great power; remembering the awesome wonders he performed in Egypt through Moses, his servant.
The key word here is “perhaps.” This simply means that God is sovereign and only He has the prerogative of deciding when to answer our prayers. God also decides which kind of answer he will give—negative (no) or positive (yes). The wonder of it all is that God actually listens to our prayers and answers them. This by itself is a terrific blessing; regardless of the kind of answer we receive.
When we pray, let us always keep the word “perhaps” in mind. It is imperative to pray with faith, wisdom and a sincere heart; but this is not a guarantee of divine answer or deliverance. God always answers our petitions, although not always in the manner or time we expect or desire.
There are only very few prayers whose answers are always a resounding (and quick) “yes.” These include genuine and heartfelt prayers for salvation, dedication, service, and confession. Other than those aforementioned prayers, most answers to prayers come with a “perhaps” or “maybe” attached to them. To us, most prayers are so urgent and excellent, that they “deserve” a yes—For God, however, the answer could be yes, no, or… perhaps.
