Habakkuk's Cry

The prophecy that Habakkuk the prophet received.

“How long, LORD, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, "Violence!" but you do not save? Why do you make me look at injustice? Why do you tolerate wrongdoing? Destruction and violence are before me; there is strife, and conflict abounds. Therefore the law is paralyzed, and justice never prevails. The wicked hem in the righteous, so that justice is perverted.”

"Look at the nations and watch—and be utterly amazed. For I am going to do something in your days that you would not believe, even if you were told." Habakkuk 1:1-5

Have you been praying for revival? For your church, for your city, for your country, for the world? Do you think that this could possibly be the most evil, most corrupt time in human history? Does it seem as if God has turned a deaf ear to your prayers? Meet the prophet Habakkuk. His people had turned away from God, all the public officials were corrupt--injustice and corruption were rampant. Destruction and violence were a part of everyday life. Habakkuk had been asking God to intervene, yet there was no evidence that God had even heard his prayers. This time, however, God responds to His cry directly and assures Habakkuk that He has been working on a surprising plan, one that the prophet would never have imagined.

It's easy, when nothing seems to be happening, for us to imagine that God is not at work. When those thoughts start to creep in, remember the prophet Habakkuk. God may not speak to us directly, but don't stop praying. God is not on our timetable--He is engineering circumstances that will, most likely, surprise us all. In the meantime, He is teaching us the lessons of trust, patience, and perseverance.