At what point does God decide to answer a petition He's been receiving from any given Christian?

Does He wait until the laaaaaaaast nano-second to pull off a surprise for an anticipating believer? Does He read the voting results and leave the viewers hanging in suspense until after the commercial break like American Idol host Ryan Seacrest?

Does He get a kick out of watching you jump like a lunatic dolphin after giving you a blessed breakthrough in your life? It certainly must have felt that way for Knicks Point Guard phenomenon Jeremy Lin.

"The God of the 11^th hour." It was what a friend of mine remarked after hearing me talk about how God had just came through for me at the last minute and had me holding my breath the entire time.

According to The South Florida Sun Sentinel, Miami Heat Power Forward Udonis Haslem had been attending the team chapel for eight seasons. I did not know this and it certainly feels great when you have praying believers in the celebrity world. The eve of January 27, 2012 would be the first time Haslem would meet Lin - the unknown point guard. After the short service, players were encouraged to give prayer requests before they ended the session. Jeremy Lin would request an unusual prayer that Udonis never heard from an NBA colleague. "Can you pray I don't get cut?" Lin said to the pastor and other players in the meeting.

This is the moment where that twinkle sound effect from the movie Back to the Future chimes in whenever a clue is presented in the plot. Some of you reading this were not even embryos when Back to the Future was released in theaters, so go Redbox it.

Lin was already cut twice from two different teams and was on the end of the bench of his current team. In fact, he was only offered one college scholarship, which began his basketball career in Harvard. He was heckled with racial slurs whenever they played on an opponent's court. Athletes from Harvard are about as rare as the Sasquatch. Asian athletes from Harvard would be the equivalent of seeing a Unicorn. He was never selected from any team in the NBA draft. Needless to say, the odds were stacked against Lin.

Udonis Haslem certainly understood Lin's uncertainty. They had both been undrafted players with only hustle to hang their hats on.

Alas, there Lin was with his self-admitted last stop. He thought that either this was it or he would move on to get a "regular" job. And so that monumental evening in Miami, they would pray over everyone's requests and you know what happened in that night's game against the Miami Heat? Absolutely nothing!

Coach wouldn't look his way that night. Lin would continue playing the role of bench warmer and observe his team get spanked by Lebron James and company.

Where was God?

He showed up a week later, allowing injuries to decimate the Knicks team enough to prompt their coach, Mike D'Antoni, to summon the obscure player from the end of the bench. Otherwise, Lin would have never sniffed the hardwood court. And the rest is history...in the making.

The Lord answered Lin's prayer and THEN SOME. "Linsanity" has caused New Yorkers to feel giddy again. Could God have orchestrated it any better? I would often tell my wife that God works the world with clockwork accuracy. The great I AM is not confined by time and space as we are, so what seems like bad timing to us is right on time to God. 

It reminds me of the story of Daniel. He prayed and it took a messenger of the Lord 21 days to get his answer to Daniel. Twenty-one days! God had already answered. So what appears like He's not listening or doesn't care, He has already answered and we should have FAITH enough to concur with what the Lord already affirmed.

Let's not fool ourselves. Lin worked hard. He sweated. He studied. He came to practice early. He left practice late. Before he arrived in the NBA, his Asian features would have people prejudge him for a volleyball player when he showed up to play a basketball game. He positioned himself for success. He was ready for the opportunity.

I say this because I'm convinced too many of us sit and wait for God to lay everything we ask for on our lap. It's true when Jesus said that our Heavenly Father feeds the birds of the air so how much more would He do for us? But birds don't sit on the ground with their mouths gaped open waiting for God to drop some seeds from the sky. No, birds work and fly in the early morning looking for seeds and worms.

And so it is with us. Lin has re-confirmed to me that God is always faithful and will reward diligence. How many times have I wished that I was a "regular person" so I could just get a "regular job" like "regular people" and not be burdened with the "gifts" that God gave me. How many times was I on my last stop before I moved onto normalcy? I am so glad that the Lord wasn't paying me any mind with my foolish pity-party rants. He has answered so many times and I have to remind myself of that whenever I start to doubt His "impeccable" timing.

America loves these underdog stories and can't seem to get enough of them. It's not a coincidence that Jeremy Lin is a Christian and happens to blow up on the scene after Tebowmania subsided for the football off season. The offensive strategy of his coach Mike D'Antoni, whose job was on the line, RELIES on a talented point guard. Their team had players that desperately needed a point guard who had the vision to pass the ball. They had no assets to trade or draft one. Could Lin have been anymore primed for this moment or what? He wasn't sitting at home wallowing in self pity. He wasn't too prideful to play for the D League (NBA's version of the Minor Leagues). He was grinding away at his dream. After being cut twice, he auditioned again. He worked on his craft and God rewarded his diligence.

And, what a reward! This I love. He won't always give you what you ask for. He'll give you more than that. He'll have you perform four unprecedented amazing starts in NBA history. He'll make you the center of attention to the entire globe on America's grandest stage. He'll have you invited to the All-Star Game receiving All-Star treatment. He'll have your teammates pour adulation on you. He'll set your table before your prejudiced, heckling enemies. He'll have you defeating giants like Kobe Bryant. He'll instill hope in the hearts of many other believers who are downtrodden and on their "last stop."

On their second meeting with the Miami Heat, did Lin show up in the chapel service with a grin on his face? Did the Pastor high-five him with the rest of the attendees shouting a triumphant hallelujah? I don't know. Lin, no longer warming benches, would return to play against the team he prayed with on that worrisome night. Do you know what kind of impact he had FOR his team in that second meeting? Absolutely nothing!

He would proceed to receive a spanking by Lebron James and company. But it was a sign of respect. He made it. He got back on his feet and continues to play wonderfully.

This is not where the story ends. I don't know what the future holds but the plot line is hinting at something even bigger. China wants Lin, who aspires to be a PASTOR, to play for them in the Olympics. Do you see the divine at work in this climactic masterpiece? Hello? Atheistic China, who sends Christian converts to prison and torture, wants devout Evangelical Lin to play for their National team. Connect the dots.

What will God do next? Bring some unheard of hockey player who is Tebowing in every game and comes from an Aboriginal tribe in Australia? Do you doubt He could? God is such a big-picture God. An always-faithful God to perpetually unfaithful sinners. The God of the 11^th hour. 

The self-proclaimed Zig Ziglar of rap, Billy Delgado, is a Music Producer/Artist and Writer by day and sleeping pillow-drooler by night. He is currently producing the debut album for his band The 288's, a God-inspired Hip Hop/R&B group that combines soul-baring lyricism with an electric innovative sound, breaking from the norm and reaching all cultures & ages (save senior citizens). He still can't believe he's a family man with a beautiful wife Mari & three boys Chris, Nelson and Joshua, so he continues to pinch himself silly to this day.