今天，我们正式谈论「由迷惘到信靠」所需要采取的第三个步骤：给神机会来回应。哈巴谷告诉了神自己对神的看法后，坐下来聆听神的回答，这对哈巴谷无疑是好的。我们必须谨记的是：祷告不单涉及向神说话，也涉及神向我们说话。

哈巴谷把话说完，预备好聆听时，神便开始回应，不过神不是以哈巴谷所期望的方式来回应。首先，神告诉他说，与表面情况的平静相反，神并非没有行动：「因为在你们的时候，我行一件事……」，神所以一直保持沉默，只是因为先知和他所代表的百姓不愿意接受神所提出的解决办法：「虽有人告诉你们，你们总是不信。」

神显然不是像先知所想像的行事，祂并不是退后让事情不受控制地继续发生。实际上祂已经实行祂的计划和目的，只不过那做法是哈巴谷认为难以置信和不能接受的。我们为甚么会要经历灵性上的迷惘和沮丧，其中一个原因是虽然我们有足够的勇气向神提问，但是没有勇气接受神给我们的答案。要是神知道我们的心不愿意，也尚未预备好要走上祂认为是对我们最好的道路，那么神向我们揭示祂的计划和目的有甚么用呢？

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?