There are, of course, times when something is best for us, but the time isn’t right. Remember my example of the friend whose dad had Alzheimer’s? He and his wife married in their early thirties. That’s a little old to have kids, but not that old. However, they began to worry when after a couple years they didn’t have any children. They kept praying and trying, but nothing happened.
They did not despair. They kept trusting God. As the years went on, his dad got sick, and there were some major problems with money. When they finally had their son, the situation was much better than it would have been. While they still don’t have a lot of money, now they can afford to raise him a lot more than they could.
The Shunammite woman was the same way. She likely prayed for a son for a while. She didn’t get one, because God was planning to reward her when the time was right. He wasn’t saying “no,” just “wait.”
That is the important thing to remember when it comes to praying for someone’s salvation. It’s God’s will that none perish, but that all come to repentance. A woman in our church saw her husband get saved after she prayed for him for 44 years! We don’t know if the Shunammite woman’s husband ever drew close to God. But, we know that she did a great job of being an example to him.
