Delays in Answered Prayer

​"Now a certain man was sick, Lazarus of Bethany, the town of Mary and her sister Martha. It was that Mary who anointed the Lord with fragrant oil and wiped His feet with her hair, whose brother Lazarus was sick. Therefore the sisters sent to Him, saying, “Lord, behold, he whom You love is sick.” When Jesus heard that, He said, “This sickness is not unto death, but for the glory of God, that the Son of God may be glorified through it.” Now Jesus loved Martha and her sister and Lazarus. So, when He heard that he was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was" (John 11:1-6).
 
"God OFTEN delays in answering prayer" as Charles Spurgeon once said.  Indeed that is true. For God has His own reasons for delay. For the longer the delay and the more impossible the situation seems - the more God will be glorified when He answers. One example in scripture of this is found in John 11 about the story of Lazarus and how Jesus raised him from the dead. When Lazarus was sick and his sisters sent for Jesus to come to his aid, Jesus on purpose delayed his departure to see him until his death. This is so "that the Son of God may be glorified through it" (John 11:4). Jesus got more glory in raising Lazarus after his death than if he just healed him while he was sick and many people believed in Him as a result.
 
So be encouraged if God delays answering your prayer! God is up to something. He might make your situation seem impossible and without hope before He answers so that when He answers all the people will be in awe and all will glorify God!