Scripture makes it clear that our Heavenly Father hears and answers our prayers. Yet, though we pray for the Lord to act right away, we have all known times when we have had to wait. What are some reasons for the delay? The Father sees when our attention is misdirected. Our relationship with Him should have priority over any earthly matter. (Mark 12:30), yet minds and prayer can become so fixed on a need that our gaze shifts from God, then He may delay answering until we refocus on Him. In other situation, He delays because the timing is not right for granting our request. Perhaps certain events must happen first, or our thinking needs to be changed. There are also seasons when the Lord wants to stretch and grow our faith. In these times of waiting, the Holy Spirit will work to mature us and bring forth righteous fruit (Galatians 5:22-23). Other reasons are a wrong motive for request (James 4:3) and the practice of habitual sin. We all fall short when it comes to God's standard of holiness, but some of us persist in a lifestyle of disobedience. The Lord may delay His answer so He can prompt us to confess our sins and turn back to Him. Waiting on the Lord is not easy, Faith and Trust are needed

(Hebrews 11:1). If His answer is delayed, let us check that our focus is on Him, our motive for asking is God-honoring, and we are not practicing habitual sin. Then we must believe that His response will be for our good and His glory.  ~Psalm 33:20-22