“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)
It may not be for us to know, but God has times and seasons established for everything. Our birth, our death, who we meet, and every person that crosses our path during our lives. It’s not necessary to know everything that God has planned but it’s good to know that He has a perfect time for all things. Therefore, it’s worthwhile to pray and ask for His timing in everything we do. The times of our lives are in His hands.
I have discovered a simple, but impactful prayer to pray before I leave the house each day. I say, “Lord, let your perfect timing be done in everything today.”
When I prayed this in the past, interesting things happened, like the day I went to the bank to submit guardianship papers for my disabled son, Jon. As I was telling the bank official about Jon’s condition since his motorcycle accident, a total stranger walked over to tell me that she was going to pray for my son, and then asked his name in order to add him to her regular prayers.
It’s amazing what happens when you ask for God’s perfect timing. I have been taking a 20 mile drive each week, to pick up Jon’s mail which goes to a mailbox at a UPS store in Lake County where he once lived. Before I left the house for the trip this week, I prayed “ Lord, let your perfect timing be done in everything today.”
I walked into the UPS store and when I asked the clerk for his mail, he asked me how Jon was doing. We talked for a few minutes and he shared with me his own situation of being guardian for his adult son, with autism. Then he paused, took my hand in his and said with all sincerity, that he would be praying for my son.
Who runs into total strangers like this, that go out of their way in a public place, to pause from their own routine, to tell me that they are going to pray for my son?
It happens through the intervention of God, and He chooses to work through people.
It’s kind of mind blowing but when we pray according to His will, why wouldn’t God act on our behalf. Asking God for His perfect timing is equal to asking for His will to be done, which is essentially how Jesus taught us to pray. I believe God wants to be invited into every aspect of our lives. It is a way for Him to manifest His presence through others. He arranges the timing and places to have a particular person behind the counter, or in a facility at the right time, to use them to express His compassion toward us.
If we tune in and look for His signs all around us, and if we watch and wait for His goodness, we will find Him. He speaks to us through others, but we will know it’s God speaking to us, by the perfect timing. There are no coincidences, because when we ask, we will receive.
When Jesus spoke today’s scripture, He was responding to questions He was asked about end time events. We know that God has established times and seasons for all things. Jesus told the disciples, it isn’t necessary to know about all of God’s timing, but we can find confidence and comfort by trusting Him for perfect timing in our lives, one day at a time. To ask one day at a time is like asking for His daily bread, which Jesus also taught us to pray for.
I challenge anyone to try praying for God’s perfect timing and see the difference in their day.
Lord, the times of our lives are in your hands. We trust in your perfect timing to be done according to your perfect will. We ask for it, one day at a time, as we ask for our daily bread. Thank you for wanting to be included in every aspect of our lives day by day. Amen