A few days ago, with the dawning of 2026, I found myself doing my usual reflections on the past year and committing to a fresh start for the coming year. Making lists, setting goals, etc. In my desire to connect with God, I reached for a Bible study workbook written by Lysa Terkeurst and Dr. Joel Muddamalle entitled 30 Days with Jesus. I had purchased it years ago and glanced at a few chapters, but honestly, I had never gotten past the first few pages. On that morning, it seemed like as good of place as any to jumpstart my devotional life.
I found myself reading about Hannah in 1 Samuel. She desperately wanted a baby and was facing a rival who had what she wanted and was tormenting her. She felt bitterness of soul. Terkeurst pointed out that Hannah brought her affliction and pain to the Lord in honest prayer (1 Samuel 1:9-11).
But then Terkeurst brought up something unusual in the text. She emphasized how the answer of Hannah’s prayers came about. If you know the story, you remember that the answer wasn’t instantaneous. The little words in 1 Samuel 1:20, “And in due time” jumped off the page at me. In the NIV version it reads, “So in the course of time Hannah became pregnant...”
God did answer her prayer…but it was in the course of time.
So often I pray prayers and then two seconds later or, at most, five minutes later I am expecting lightning to flash from the sky with my answer. Then I’m disappointed and tempted to think that God has abandoned me or forgotten me.
Although God can and sometimes does answer in an instant, I have found in my life that often his answers happen more like Hannah’s scenario.
He answers gently in the course of time.
Let me be clear that right now, in my personal life, I am not longing for a baby. I am way past that stage. That was not a struggle that I was ever faced with, although I can imagine the deep pain of desiring a child and being barren and my heart goes out to anyone who is suffering in that situation.
However, even though I am not barren, I am currently in a barren season of waiting on the Lord for several very personal answers to prayer. Like Hannah, I have been in honest prayer with the Lord about my burdens, but none of the answers have happened yet. All is quiet, and nothing is on the horizon indicating the answers are going to occur any time soon.
And yet somehow, despite there being no immediate answers, I found comfort on that frigid January morning of 2026. I was reminded that God has not forgotten me. Just as he heard Hannah’s desires and cries for a child, He has also heard my burdened cries over my situations.
So…I will take comfort in the fact that he will answer me… in the course of time.
How about you, friend? What is a burden you are carrying? Will you pray about it today?
Mindy Baker resides in Indiana where she is a high school Spanish teacher. She is the author of Soledad and the Curse of the Phoenix, Chicken Scratch Books, 2025 and Mouse’s Christmas Gift, Zonderkidz 2018, and has contributions in multiple Guideposts publications. You can connect online with Mindy here. She also has a mini-magazine for parents, grandparents, and other caregivers of children. You can sign up to receive it here.
What a beautiful reminder to wait on the Lord during our barren seasons. Thank you for sharing, Mindy. Lysa’s book looks like a good one!