If you've traveled with small children in a car, you've probably heard this conversation more than once. Sooner or later, whether the journey is half an hour or half a day, someone asks, "When do we get there?"

"Soon."

"How much longer?"

"A few minutes."

How long do we have to wait? It is an essential question asked in scripture. Job, the psalmist, and God's people wonder over time how long they will have to wait until God's will is done on earth as it is in heaven. We pray that phrase in the Lord's Prayer as our way of recognizing that things still aren't as they ought to be.

Some worry whether asking God how long it will be smacks of backtalk and impertinence. Oddly enough, God seems to respect backtalkers. God is different from earthly rulers who surround themselves with yes-men. U…