今天，我們正式談論「由迷惘到信靠」所需要採取的第三個步驟：給神機會來回應。哈巴谷告訴了神自己對神的看法後，坐下來聆聽神的回答，這對哈巴谷無疑是好的。我們必須謹記的是：禱告不單涉及向神說話，也涉及神向我們說話。

哈巴谷把話說完，預備好聆聽時，神便開始回應，不過神不是以哈巴谷所期望的方式來回應。首先，神告訴他說，與表面情況的平靜相反，神並非沒有行動：「因為在你們的時候，我行一件事……」，神所以一直保持沉默，只是因為先知和他所代表的百姓不願意接受神所提出的解決辦法：「雖有人告訴你們，你們總是不信。」

神顯然不是像先知所想像的行事，祂並不是退後讓事情不受控制地繼續發生。實際上祂已經實行祂的計劃和目的，只不過那做法是哈巴谷認為難以置信和不能接受的。我們為甚麼會要經歷靈性上的迷惘和沮喪，其中一個原因是雖然我們有足夠的勇氣向神提問，但是沒有勇氣接受神給我們的答案。要是神知道我們的心不願意，也尚未預備好要走上祂認為是對我們最好的道路，那麼神向我們揭示祂的計劃和目的有甚麼用呢？

We come now to the third step we need to take in our progression : give God an opportunity to reply. It is to Habakkuk's credit that after telling God what he thought of Him, he sat back and listened to the divine response. One of the things we must remember is this: prayer involves not only talking to God but also God talking to us.

As soon as Habakkuk had finished speaking and was ready to listen, God started answering the prophet - but not in the way that he expected. First, God tells him that despite all appearances to the contrary, He is not inactive: "I am going to do something in your days...". And if He had been silent, it was only because of an unwillingness on the part of the prophet and the people he represented to receive the solution which God proposed: "You would not believe, even if you were told."

It is obvious that God was not doing what the prophet imagined - standing back and allowing things to proceed unchecked. He had already put into operation His plans and purposes, but in a way that Habakkuk would find unbelievable and unacceptable. Can we begin to see now that one of the reasons why we go through times of spiritual confusion and frustration is because, although we are big enough to ask the questions, we are not big enough to receive the answers? What is the point of God unfolding to us His plans and purposes when He knows that our hearts are unwilling and unready to follow the path which He sees is best for us?