A quote from a book I recently read,
"It's hard to maintain faith when you don't see anything happening," Father James confessed humbly.
The monsignor pointed to a painting of a glorious sunset above the fireplace mantle. "See that? See the open space around that sunset? See how it's just empty sky? Artisits call it 'negative space.' Now look at how it's used to hold up the main elements of the painting. The colorful shards of light breaking across the sky. The dazzling gold of the setting sun. That negative space is the filler the artist uses to support his subject. Without those spaces, the painting would collapse into a mass of indiscernible colors and shapes."
He leaned forward, looked Father James straight in the eye and brought his point home.
That painting is a lot like prayer. The answers to our prayers are the clearly defined elements, like this sunset. But the moments in between--the negative space, if you will--are just as important. Those moments, that space, frame the answers to our prayers. Without the waiting, there can be no miracles.
"God has not turned His face away from your needs, Jimmy. Neither has He refused to provide for those needs. His silence is simply the backdrop used to hightlight the gifts He will surely bring."
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