Waiting on the Lord

Have you ever waited on God in prayer? We’ve asked God and asked God, and still nothing. We all have. You are not alone. In the book of Nehemiah, it starts with Nehemiah waiting on the Lord. He is burdened by the disrepair of the walls in Jerusalem so in chapter 1, he fervently prays to the Lord. It took four months for Nehemiah’s prayer to be answered, and during this time, Nehemiah worked and prayed, prayed and worked. He was consistently before God. And he waited four months before he received an answer from God.

What can we learn from Nehemiah’s prayer and waiting for the response? God never panics, but we sure do, don’t we? If we haven’t received an answer in, oh, a few hours or a few days, we are beside ourselves. But if you look at the Bible and our own experiences in prayer, then four months isn’t that long; it’s a short time frame for God to work.
God knows all and He knows what He is doing, so He knows the right time. For us, this could mean we are being taught patience. Other times, we just don’t know why we wait. But we do, and we see this example of waiting here with Nehemiah, who continued in prayer and trusting fully in God.

The Bible talks a lot about waiting. God wants us to participate in the work He desires to accomplish. Waiting helps us be better with patience, perseverance, and endurance as well as drawing us closer to Him. What do you do while you wait? Are you frustrated? Do you give up? Do you persevere as you come before the Lord daily? Well, there are some great suggestions while waiting on the Lord.

1. Believe that the God who saved you hears your cries.
Micah 7:7 “But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation; my God will hear me.”

2. Watch with expectancy but be prepared for unexpected answers.
Psalm 5:3 “O Lord, in the morning you hear my voice; in the morning I prepare a sacrifice for you and watch.”

3. Put your hope in His Word.
Psalm 130:5-6 “I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I hope; 6 my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”

4. Trust in the Lord, not in your own understanding.
Proverbs 3:5-6 “Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not lean on your own understanding. 6 In all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make straight your paths.”

5. Resist fretting, don’t be angry, be still, and choose patience.
Psalm 37:7-8 “Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.” 8 Refrain from anger and turn from wrath; do not fret—it leads only to evil.

6. Be strong and take courage.
Psalm 27:13-14 “I remain confident of this: I will see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. 14 Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.”

7. See it as an opportunity to experience God’s goodness.
Lamentation 3:25 “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in him, to the one who seeks him;”

8. Wait for God’s promise instead of going your own way.
Acts 1:4  “On one occasion, while he was eating with them, he gave them this command: “Do not leave Jerusalem, but wait for the gift my Father promised, which you have heard me speak about.”

9. Continue steadfastly in prayer, being watchful with thanksgiving.
Colossians 4:2 “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

10. Remember the blessings yet to come.
Isaiah 30:18 “Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you; therefore he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him!”

So, sometimes it feels as though the Lord is absent and doesn’t hear us. When (not if) this occurs, put your complete faith and trust in God. He is with us. He is in control of our lives. He is always working for our good, even when we don’t feel Him.