“In the morning, Lord, you hear my voice; in the morning I lay my requests before you and wait expectantly.” Psalm 5:3 NIV
I am not a naturally patient person. If I need to purchase clothes, I prefer to online shop so I don’t have to wait in line and the articles arrive at my door directly. This also allows me to bypass traffic. While flying, I prefer to take advantage of PreCheck, and in fact, was gifted CLEAR which allows me to go to the front of the PreCheck line. (Absolutely mind-blowing!) If I can monetarily swing the FastPass at an amusement park, I’ll purchase it to avoid waiting in line. I also have an EZPass to bypass waiting in the toll line. I’ve had such a fraught relationship with patience that I used to refer to it as “the p-word” like patience were a bad word associated with dread, doom, and things that should not be spoken!!
If I’m honest, I wish there were a way to bypass the waiting process in prayer. You know if prayer worked like microwaving a meal where we could present our request to God, wait a minute or two, and voila! – prayer answered. You may know from your own prayer life that often, it’s just not that easy.
What’s so life-giving about this Psalm is the fact that David affirms God in fact does hear our prayers, so we can be confident that when we bring our requests to Him, He’s listening. The other blessing is that we can wait in expectation for the Lord to answer. Let me slow that down and say it again: We can wait. In expectation. For the Lord. To answer.
I don’t know what prayer requests you have for the Lord today. Perhaps you need healing and restoration in a relationship or your body, or you’re in pursuit of new employment. Maybe you’re in the stage of family planning and waiting to conceive or even waiting to be joined with your spouse. Or some pretty major life transitions are on the horizon, which are equally exciting and nerve-wracking too.
Whatever requests you may have, know that you can bring them to your loving Father in heaven. Not only will He listen, but He’s faithful enough to act and give you His best. We just have to be willing to wait for Him to answer. While it may seem like you’ve been praying for a situation for many months, and even years don’t be discouraged while waiting on God. Expect the Lord to answer because He will.
As that old hymn says, “He may not come when we want Him, but He’ll be there right on-time. He’s an on-time, God. Oh, yes He is!”
Reflection
In what area(s) of my life am I waiting for God to move? How can I wait in expectation and not wait discouragingly or impatiently? Are there examples from my life, or others’ lives (including Bible characters) that can encourage me and build my faith while I wait?
Prayer
Lord, thank you for always hearing me when I lay my prayer requests before you. Forgive me for being impatient with the process or becoming so discouraged that I did not want to pray at all. Help me to trust that You hear me and are at work on my behalf. Cultivate within me the ability to wait in expectation.
Photo by David Beale on Unsplash
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