God’s perfect timing

“He answered them, “It is not for you to know the times or seasons that the Father has established by his own authority.”

Acts 1:7 (NAB)

God has established times and seasons for all kinds of things; the beginning and end of our lives, the parents who raised us, and every person who impacts us and who we impact, during our lifetime. We may not know what God has planned but it’s good to know that He has plans, and He knows the perfect time to have them all play out. That alone makes it worthwhile to pray and ask for His perfect timing in everything we do.

I have discovered a simple, but impactful prayer to pray before I leave the house each day. I say, “Lord, I ask for your perfect timing in everything today.”

Whenever I start the day, praying this prayer, some interesting things seem to happen. I prayed it the day I went to the bank to submit guardianship papers for my son after his accident. After I finished telling the bank official about Jon’s current medical condition, an older woman and total stranger, walked over to tell me that she couldn’t help overhear my story. Then she asked my son’s name so that she could pray for him. 

She was a total stranger, and I never saw her again. 

I prayed that prayer another day, as I prepared to take a weekly 20 mile drive to pick up Jon’s mail which was sent to a UPS mailbox at a store in Lake County, where he used to live. I arrived at the UPS store and a different clerk was behind the counter that day. When I asked for Jon’s mail, he asked me how he was doing. We talked for a few minutes and he told me that he is a guardian for his adult son, with autism. Then he paused, took my hand and said he would be praying daily for Jon. 

I was stunned by both of these experiences, since it’s not everyday that I run into total strangers who go out of their way to pause from their own routine, in a public place, to tell me that they are going to pray for my son. God intervenes in our lives when we pray, and He likes to do it through everyday people. When we ask for His perfect timing, He brings the right person to the right place, at the right time.

One day I was on the way to a hair salon appointment, and while driving, I prayed for God’s perfect timing in everything that day. Seated next to me at the salon, was a lady who I just met. She told me about her back pain, and how much she liked her pain doctor, but he left the practice and she couldn’t find him anywhere. 

After learning her pain doctor’s name, it happened to be someone I used to work with. I texted someone else who worked with him, and they texted him, and confirmed that he no longer practices pain management, but he recommended the name of another pain doctor that he knew personally. I gave her the name of the doctor he recommended, and she was delighted.

I felt like a middle man, with all the texting going on back and forth, but it turned out that this lady was so grateful to receive the name of a doctor, recommended by her own previous pain doctor, that she was convinced that destiny had us meet that day. I knew it was all part of God’s perfect timing. 

Asking God for His perfect timing is really no different than asking for His will to be done, which is how Jesus taught us to pray the Lord’s Prayer. We also need to ask each day, just like asking for our daily bread. I believe God wants to be invited into every individual’s day. It’s kind of like plugging ourselves in to Him, and then He sends people our way to help us during the day. 

The Lord proved to me, that He could arrange the day and time to have a particular clerk behind a particular UPS counter, or a certain stranger to be in a bank at a certain time, or a special lady who was suffering with back pain to sit next to me in a hair salon, on one special day. 

The times of our life are in God’s hands, and when we ask for His perfect timing, He works through others, but His ultimate purpose is showing us how much He loves us. 

A purpose filled life begins when we ask for His perfect timing, every day and in everything we do. 

Lord, help us to seek your perfect timing for everything that happens in our day. Keep us aware and alert to signs you send that prove you are working all things for our good. Amen

Leave a Reply

Your email address will not be published. Required fields are marked *


The reCAPTCHA verification period has expired. Please reload the page.