Do any of us enjoy waiting? In shopping lines? In traffic? At the doctor’s office? Or for our prayers to be answered? This morning, the psalm I read during my quiet time said, “Each morning I bring my requests to You and wait expectantly” (Psalm 5:3). While it’s true that I wait expectantly for God to answer my prayers, I don’t always wait patiently.
At the moment, I’m waiting for several urgent prayers to be answered. A job opportunity for a loved one. My friends’ six-month-old granddaughter who needs a liver transplant. A friend’s husband who is battling cancer. For a friend awaiting a biopsy report. These are only a few of many. And don’t we all have similar lists?
Right now, winter has a solid grip on the area where I live. The Lake Michigan beach where my husband and I walk looks cold and desolate, locked in a deep freeze, waiting for renewed life. If I had no memory of the countless spring times and summer times that have followed winter in the past, I would sink into despair to imagine the world forever looking this way. But I do remember, and remembering gives me hope.
Hope also comes in the form of the prayer journal I keep so I can look back on the many prayers that God has answered in the past. Last year alone, a dear friend had successful back surgery. A young father I’d been praying for finally began an addiction program. My long-awaited granddaughter was born healthy and strong. Celebrating each of these answers gives me faith as I wait for God to answer the others. Slowly but surely, I’m learning to wait.
I waited eleven years from the time I first began to write fiction until my first novel was published. When my prayers were finally answered and I received my first book contract, I rejoiced. But during the long publishing process for that first book, my editor and I had a disagreement that brought me to my knees. Could I accept the changes she wanted to make, or would I have to cancel the contract and find a different publisher? I prayed while I waited for the publisher to respond to my concerns. I waited. Then I waited some more.
When my patience ran out, I picked up the telephone, intending to give someone a piece of my mind and end the agonizing wait. Seconds before dialing my editor, I happened to glance at my computer. The screen-saver was programmed to display random Bible verses, and this one read, “Wait for the Lord. Be strong, and take heart, and wait for the Lord.” I laughed and put down the phone. And waited some more. In the end, the disagreement was resolved to everyone’s satisfaction. My books were in print.
I still don’t like waiting but I think I’m growing better at it. Like the psalmist, “Each morning, I bring my requests to God and wait expectantly.” And hopefully.
So, what are you waiting for?
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Thanks for your uplifting post. Remembering answered prayers is helpful while waiting. Sometimes I think, “Who am I to burden the Lord with so many prayer requests?” But then I remember that he always wants us to come to him.
Right now I am waiting for my husband to recover from a serious infection that has affected everyday aspects of life – thankfully the infection is cured, but after effects linger. I am waiting to hear about a 17 year old who has leukemia and underwent a bone marrow transplant in Nov. Also, a friend who is undergoing tests to find out why her immune system has become so weakened.
Again, thank you for words of hope.
I, too, am waiting for several prayers to be answered at the moment–including for my husband’s sciatica pain to go away! Yet, like you, I have a prayer journal to look back on and remember that God is not slow, His timing is always perfect, even when it doesn’t seem so to us. Thanks for that reminder, Lynn!
Thank you for this beautiful reminder.
I waited 8 years for my daughter to go into remission from CIDP.
I waited on being able to homeschool and this year it happened!
I’ve waited on deliverance from many things and received them. Waiting is hard!
Now I am waiting for a work-from-home job. It’s been a long wait….sometimes I feel strong, other times weak, but always hopeful. How could I not be?
Waiting is often so hard. But God always prevails. I love how you look to past answers to remind you of His faithfulness. I have to remember to do that more.
I’ve been battling chronic health issues for the last 14 years, one right after another. It’s been so very hard at times, but a lot of blessings have come as a result as well, such as meeting people I never would’ve met otherwise had I not been going through all of this. I had the great pleasure of meeting you at Baker Book House last May, I was so nervous all day long that I wasn’t going to feel good that night, but I felt absolutely amazing for those few hours I was there!! I never would’ve dreamed that only a few months later in August that I would finally get the answers to all of my health problems and now I’m on the road to healing and recovery. God truly is in the miracle business and His timing is always perfect!