There are things I’ve prayed about more than once, and I don’t always see immediate change. It can feel frustrating, like I should be “further along” by now.
But when I look at how growth actually happens in life, most things take time. So maybe faith is a bit like that too.
My faith grows every day, bit by bit, I can see the change, some is quick, some takes a very long time and you one day notice “oh hey, did that really finally happen?” for example it could be your view about something or someone and you think about it or them and no longer feel as you once did.
It works slowly and surely, bit by bit, like reconstructing an old house or car. one day you just look around and it seems new.
If God gave us instant change it wouldn’t require the hard work and dedication, I think the effort we put in is part of what makes the changes so rewarding, and that He wants us to learn and work instead of Him just giving it to us.
I know what you mean. One thing that helps me is Jesus words, “Men always ought to pray and not lose heart”. I remember reading about a woman in India who wanted one of her children to go into ministry. She prayed that for years. It was answered decades later when her youngest son started a ministry called Gospel for Asia. I found that encouraging. I also know that prayers usually involve other people in some way and not just me. If His answer is yes to my prayer, then He is taking the others into consideration too.
"For everything there is a season,
and a time for every matter under heaven:a time to be born, and a time to die;
a time to plant, and a time to pluck up what is planted;a time to kill, and a time to heal;
a time to break down, and a time to build up;a time to weep, and a time to laugh;
a time to mourn, and a time to dance;a time to cast away stones, and a time to gather stones together;
a time to embrace, and a time to refrain from embracing;a time to seek, and a time to lose;
a time to keep, and a time to cast away;a time to tear, and a time to sew;
a time to keep silence, and a time to speak;a time to love, and a time to hate;
a time for war, and a time for peace.What gain has the worker from his toil?
I have seen the business that God has given to the children of man to be busy with. He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man’s heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."
Peter
It’s called sanctification.
J.
Pertinent Theological Reading
I am all in on the sufficiency of the Holy Scriptures. I affirm with Peter that in the Scripture we have all we need for life and godliness. I will also affirm that when it comes to sanctification, reading that improves our understanding and application of the Scriptures is a great benefit.
A person battling sorrow and grief will benefit greatly from reading on the doctrine of God.
Every believer is at a different place in their progressive sanctification and in the midst of different battles in the spiritual war. This is where pertinent or relevant theological reading can be a means to help strengthen our sanctification. Paul’s words to Timothy demonstrate this truth:
Follow the pattern of the sound words that you have heard from me, in the faith and love that are in Christ Jesus. (2 Tim 1:13)
There are seasons of life when focused study of a certain doctrine is needed. There are faithful men throughout church history and today who have spent time fleshing out specific doctrines and teachings from Scripture that can aid believers in their specific, momentary need for sanctification. A person battling sorrow and grief will benefit greatly from reading on the doctrine of God. Someone struggling with assurance of salvation will find great hope reading of justification through faith in Christ alone. A husband or wife in the midst of a difficult marriage can find hope in reading of God’s institution, purpose, and plan for marriage.
And let us consider how to stir up one another to love and good works, not neglecting to meet together, as is the habit of some, but encouraging one another, and all the more as you see the Day drawing near. For if we go on sinning deliberately after receiving the knowledge of the truth, there no longer remains a sacrifice for sins. (Heb 10:24–26)
As we gather together as God’s people, we hear God’s Word preached and read. Think back to the first discipline, apart from the Word of Truth there is no sanctification. Hearing it read and preached on the Lord’s Day sets the course of the rest of the week. The gathering of saints on the Lord’s Day is also when we sing to one another as the Word dwells richly in us. Along with these elements of worship, the saints pray and engage in the ordinances which are God’s ordinary means of sanctification. John Gill explains, “It is the duty of saints to assemble together for public worship,…on the account of the saints themselves, that they may be delighted, refreshed, comforted, instructed, edified, and perfected.”2
And let our people learn to devote themselves to good works, so as to help cases of urgent need, and not be unfruitful. (Titus 3:14)
Loving and serving one another is one of the ways brothers and sisters in Christ live out their sanctification. As the fruits of the Spirit become more and more evident in the lives of Christians, they begin to think less of themselves and more and more of one another. When believers devote themselves to being led by the Spirit and not by the flesh, they will continue to put more and more sin to death and put on more and more fruits of the Spirit. The simple truth is the more we as Christians focus on serving one another, the less we are focused on our own sinful desires.
And so, from the day we heard, we have not ceased to pray for you, asking that you may be filled with the knowledge of his will in all spiritual wisdom and understanding, so as to walk in a manner worthy of the Lord, fully pleasing to him: bearing fruit in every good work and increasing in the knowledge of God; being strengthened with all power, according to his glorious might, for all endurance and patience with joy.
Paul provides an example of His own prayer for the sanctification of the church. We can see it is a frequent, focused, prayer that the church at Colossae would grow in sanctification. I believe it is safe to say that the church as individuals and as a body can see in this prayer, and other prayers throughout the Scriptures including Jesus’s high priestly prayer, that sanctification is not only dependent on the Word of God or the Church of God, but also our communion with God in prayer.
Sanctification is not only dependent on the Word of God or the Church of God, but also our communion with God in prayer.
Conclusion
The necessity of these spiritual disciplines for spiritual growth is not new by any means. However, I am grateful for faithful men of God like Randy Patten who reminded us sometimes we just need to get back to the basics of what the Scriptures say about sanctification.
Therefore, if we desire to get serious about sanctification we must engage in (1) Systematic Bible Reading, (2) Meaningful Memorization, (3) Pertinent Theological Reading, (4) Church Attendance, (5) Loving Deeds and Acts of Service, and (6) Focused, Fervent Prayer.
Buck Braswell
J
What you’re describing is something Scripture actually anticipates, so your experience is not outside the normal pattern of the Christian life.
God does not ordinarily work change in us all at once, but He does work truly and progressively, because what began in your life was not self-improvement but His work rooted in Christ’s cross and secured in His resurrection.
Philippians 1:6[1]
Notice the structure, He “began” the work decisively, yet He “will bring it to completion” over time, which means the presence of process is not failure but design.
Scripture also describes this growth as gradual transformation rather than instant arrival.
2 Corinthians 3:18[2]
That phrase “from one degree of glory to another” means real change, but in stages, often slower than we would prefer.
Even the way Jesus describes growth assumes time and development.
Mark 4:27–28[3]
There is a sequence, not an instant result.
At the same time, that feeling of “I should be further along” is not entirely wrong, Scripture does warn against remaining unchanged, but it also explains why the struggle continues.
Galatians 5:17[4]
That inner conflict means growth will often feel slow and contested, not smooth and immediate.
So a clearer way to think about it is this.
God does not expect instant perfection, but He does produce real, observable change over time.
The fact that you are praying, noticing the lack, and desiring growth already reflects His work in you, not its absence.
Your confidence should not rest in how fast you think you are progressing, but in the certainty that what Christ accomplished at the cross and confirmed in the resurrection is now being worked out in you by God Himself.
The question is not “Why am I not there yet,” but “Is there evidence, even small, that He is at work,” because Scripture says He will finish what He started.
J.
You seem to be talking about two different things. Transformation and faith. Transformation is progressive and takes time
Romans 12:2
**2 **And be not conformed to this world: but be ye transformed by the renewing of your mind, that ye may prove what is that good, and acceptable, and perfect, will of God…./KJV
It says be ye transformed, so you play a big part in it, then God does the transforming within you. I noticed the changes in me by accident, I started reacting differently to situations that, I never reacted that before! What our part is, is seeking the Lord, Knock on His door, Talk to Him. So in a practical fashion that means start reading His Word way more than you used to, and…pray without ceasing. He’s always with you anyway! You see, whenever you read His Word or pray, you are bringing yourself into His presence. That is when He is able to work on the spiritual damage from sin inside you.
Hi, just thinking on your words- when a baby is born into the world He must learn to crawl, stand, walk, eat etc……and each one takes building muscles, and falling before they get it right. So by the same token maybe spiritual is just like that. One grows up into the fullness of Christ. Definitely sounds like that would be trial and error. Maybe even to the point we learn that basic will power doesn’twork.
Great post, thoughtful question: Does God expect instant change?
Your question implies we are performing our change for God. However, there is a different way of looking at it found in our Scriptures.
There is a germaine parallelism in the old covenant that meanders through the saga of God rescuing His children from Egyptian slavery (metaphorically, the sinful world). He miraculously leads them through the sea on dry ground, and then ushers them into His promised land. The promised land was not empty, but had to be taken; the current occupants needed to be driven out. The promised land is analogous to our new life in His salvation, the current occupants (idolotrous Canaanites) are analogous to the sin that resides in our “old man”. Like the Canaanites of the promised land, that destructive sin in our person needs to be driven out, either displaced or mercilessly killed. God promised to do all the displacement Himself if his children (we) would but trust only Him, and obey His instructions. God’s promise to His children Israel is analogous to His promise to you and I through Jesus. Think of the Canaanites as your old life of sin. To them (and to you) he says this:
“I will send My fear before you, I will cause confusion among all the people to whom you come, and will make all your enemies turn their backs to you. And I will send hornets before you, which shall drive out the Hivite, the Canaanite, and the Hittite from before you. I will not drive them out from before you in one year, lest the land become desolate and the beast of the field become too numerous for you. Little by little I will drive them out from before you, until you have increased, and you inherit the land. And I will set your bounds from the Red Sea to the sea, Philistia, and from the desert to the River. For I will deliver the inhabitants of the land into your hand, and you shall drive them out before you. You shall make no covenant with them, nor with their gods. They shall not dwell in your land, lest they make you sin against Me. For if you serve their gods, it will surely be a snare to you.” Exodus 23:27-33
He reiterates:
"If you should say in your heart, ‘These nations are greater than I; how can I dispossess them?’-- you shall not be afraid of them, but you shall remember well what the LORD your God did to Pharaoh and to all Egypt: the great trials which your eyes saw, the signs and the wonders, the mighty hand and the outstretched arm, by which the LORD your God brought you out. So shall the LORD your God do to all the peoples of whom you are afraid. Moreover the LORD your God will send the hornet among them until those who are left, who hide themselves from you, are destroyed. You shall not be terrified of them; for the LORD your God, the great and awesome God, is among you. And the LORD your God will drive out those nations before you little by little; you will be unable to destroy them at once, lest the beasts of the field become too numerous for you. But the LORD your God will deliver them over to you, and will inflict defeat upon them until they are destroyed. And He will deliver their kings into your hand, and you will destroy their name from under heaven; no one shall be able to stand against you until you have destroyed them. You shall burn the carved images of their gods with fire; you shall not covet the silver or gold that is on them, nor take it for yourselves, lest you be snared by it; for it is an abomination to the LORD your God. Nor shall you bring an abomination into your house, lest you be doomed to destruction like it. You shall utterly detest it and utterly abhor it, for it is an accursed thing. Deuteronomy 7:17-26
Do you see it? Do you see the divine process of His wisdom in sanctification; the steady, protracted, intentional plan of God to replace the old destructive occupants with new life affirming ones? Do you see God’s divine wisdom in raising a person of dead-dust to a new living testimony to His Glory? God is not rushed, he will not be hasty, nor will He allow anything to interrupt His timing.
Here is your part in the process: trust only Him, and obey His word. This is called “Faith”.
Therefore we do not lose heart. Even though our outward man is perishing, yet the inward man is being renewed day by day. For our light affliction, which is but for a moment, is working for us a far more exceeding and eternal weight of glory, while we do not look at the things which are seen, but at the things which are not seen. For the things which are seen are temporary, but the things which are not seen are eternal. 2 Corinthians 4:16-18
…for we walk by faith and not by sight
KP
In view, it is a process.
When a man looks to the Lord, reads the Word for the truth, and shun evils as sins, then the regeneration may be slowly taking place, if he is sincerely doing it. That is, when a man is doing his part, then the Lord is regenerating him or her.
”26 He also said, “This is what the kingdom of God is like. A man scatters seed on the ground. 27 Night and day, whether he sleeps or gets up, the seed sprouts and grows, though he does not know how. 28 All by itself the soil produces grain—first the stalk, then the head, then the full kernel in the head. 29 As soon as the grain is ripe, he puts the sickle to it, because the harvest has come.”
John 1:12–13
“But as many as received him, to them gave he power to become the sons of God, even to them that believe on his name:
Which were born, not of blood, nor of the will of the flesh, nor of the will of man, but of God.”
John 3:3
“Jesus answered and said unto him, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born again, he cannot see the kingdom of God.”
John 3:5–8
“Jesus answered, Verily, verily, I say unto thee, Except a man be born of water and of the Spirit, he cannot enter into the kingdom of God.
That which is born of the flesh is flesh; and that which is born of the Spirit is spirit.
Marvel not that I said unto thee, Ye must be born again.
The wind bloweth where it listeth… so is every one that is born of the Spirit.”
Ephesians 2:1–5
“And you hath he quickened, who were dead in trespasses and sins;
…Even when we were dead in sins, hath quickened us together with Christ, (by grace ye are saved;)”
Ephesians 2:8–9
“For by grace are ye saved through faith; and that not of yourselves: it is the gift of God:
Not of works, lest any man should boast.”
Titus 3:5
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done, but according to his mercy he saved us, by the washing of regeneration, and renewing of the Holy Ghost;”
Romans 9:15–16
“For he saith to Moses, I will have mercy on whom I will have mercy…
So then it is not of him that willeth, nor of him that runneth, but of God that sheweth mercy.”
James 1:18
“Of his own will begat he us with the word of truth…”
1 Peter 1:23
“Being born again, not of corruptible seed, but of incorruptible, by the word of God…”
Ezekiel 36:26–27
“A new heart also will I give you, and a new spirit will I put within you…
And I will put my spirit within you, and cause you to walk in my statutes…”
Philippians 1:6
“He which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
Philippians 2:12–13
“…work out your own salvation with fear and trembling.
For it is God which worketh in you both to will and to do of his good pleasure.”
Scripture does not support your statement, “when man is doing his or her part.”
J.
You cite nicely all those things that the Lord does. Those are beatiful teachings.
However, is the true doctrine or true understanding to be derived only from one set passages, or should the other set of passages be also consulted?
For instance, when we want to know about what is pleasing to God, do we only read the passages about faith? Or only about love? Or both?
So, consider the other set of passages, which in my opinion, together with the passages of yours, gives a fuller perspective or what is the part of God and what is the part of men, who attribute all thе merit for faith and charity to the Lord alone.
1 John 3:23
“And this is His command, that we may believe in the name of His Son Jesus Christ, and may love one another, even as He did give command to us.”
John 14:15
“If ye love me, my commands keep.”
John 15:10, 14
“If my commandments ye may keep, ye shall remain in my love…”
“Ye are my friends, if ye may do whatever I command you.”
Matthew 19:16–19
“Good teacher, what good thing shall I do, that I may have life age-during?”
“If thou dost will to enter into the life, keep the commands.”
“Thou shalt not kill, thou shalt not commit adultery, thou shalt not steal, thou shalt not bear false witness, honour thy father and mother, and, thou shalt love thy neighbor as thyself.”
Matthew 7:21, 24, 26
“Not every one who is saying to me Lord, lord, shall come into the reign of the heavens; but he who is doing the will of my Father who is in the heavens.”
“Every one who doth hear of me these words, and doth do them, I will liken him to a wise man…”
“And every one who is hearing of me these words, and is not doing them, shall be likened to a foolish man…”
Luke 6:46–49
“And why do ye call me, Lord, Lord, and do not what I say?”
“Every one who is coming unto me, and is hearing my words, and is doing them…”
“And he who heard and did not, is like to a man having builded a house upon the earth, without a foundation…”
John 5:14
“Lo, thou hast become whole; sin no more, lest something worse may happen to thee.”
Romans 6:11–13
“Let not then the sin reign in your mortal body, to obey it in its desires.”
“Neither present ye your members instruments of unrighteousness to the sin, but present yourselves to God…”
Romans 8:13
“If according to the flesh ye do live, ye are about to die; and if, by the Spirit, the deeds of the body ye put to death, ye shall live.”
Galatians 5:6
“For in Christ Jesus neither circumcision availeth anything, nor uncircumcision, but faith through love working.”
1 Corinthians 7:19
“The circumcision is nothing, and the uncircumcision is nothing — but a keeping of the commands of God.”
James 2:17–20, 22, 24, 26
“So also the faith, if it may not have works, is dead by itself.”
“Thou dost believe that God is one; thou dost well, and the demons believe, and they shudder!”
“The faith apart from the works is dead.”
“Dost thou see that the faith was working with his works, and out of the works the faith was perfected?”
“Ye see, then, that out of works is man declared righteous, and not out of faith only.”
“For as the body apart from the spirit is dead, so also the faith apart from the works is dead.”
Philippians 2:12–13
“With fear and trembling work out your own salvation , for God it is who is working in you both to will and to work for His good pleasure.”
So which is it?
Do you have anything to do with your regeneration, or does YHWH?
Consider Titus 3:5:
“Not by works of righteousness which we have done” -excludes human contribution
“But according to His mercy He saved us” - grounds salvation in God’s initiative
“By the washing of regeneration” - identifies regeneration as the means
“And renewing of the Holy Spirit” - attributes the work entirely to the Spirit
Nice deflection, by the way. We can address the paradoxical and dialectical pairs or triads later.
J.
Yes, I agree. I think we are so enmeshed in our human sense of time, but God sees the bigger picture and he doesn’t ever forget us or our prayers. He is always working for our good and his glory, and often, I’ve found, what I initially may have thought was for my good was not actually the best thing. It is often because of his mercy that he doesn’t immediately grant my prayers, but instead, over time, he reveals a better, more fruitful path to me.