I often find myself in a place of waiting. I wait for the Lord to answer prayers for which I’ve long prayed. I wait for him to move in my life and in the life of others. I wait for wisdom to know what to do in particular circumstances. I wait for fruit to grow in ministries and relationships. I wait for dreams and hopes to finally come to fruition.
It’s easy to grow weary in waiting. I am often impatient. Sometimes my heart fills with worry and doubt. I may even begin to wonder if God has forgotten about me. That’s why the Psalms are an important book for those of us who wait. It shows us how to wait well. It shows us to turn to the Lord with all that is on our heart and cry out to him. In Psalm 13:1, he wrote, "How long, O LORD? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me?”
For all of us who wait, let us turn to the Lord in prayer.
A Prayer While Waiting
Father in Heaven,
I come before you with my heart filled with so many different thoughts and feelings. I am tense and uncertain about what I should be doing and where I should go. I feel weak and helpless. Powerless. I am worried about what happens next and whether I have the strength to handle it. Deep down I wonder, how long will I be here? Will I be stuck in this place of waiting forever? And why am I here to begin with? What's happening, Lord? But most of all, I wonder, where are you? Why haven't you responded to my cries for help?
But even as I pray that, I know you are right where you've always said you would be. You've never left me and you will never forsake me. You hear all my cries. In fact as David wrote in Psalm 139, you know my thoughts before I even think them. You know exactly what is happening in my life and what will happen next. All things are in your control and nothing can happen apart from your will. Not a sparrow falls to earth without your willing it to and you know the number of hairs on my head. You are never surprised. Even about this issue in my life today. You know why this is happening and will use it for your glory and my good.
Forgive me for how I have worried about this situation. Forgive me for doubting your love and care in my life. Forgive me for my discontentment as I wait for what happens next. Forgive me for being impatient. Forgive me for not seeking after you and for allowing these circumstances in my life to seem greater than your grace and goodness. Create in me a clean heart. Help me to see the counterfeit loves and idols in my heart. Help me to see all the things I cling to that I think will make my life happy and complete apart from you. Help me to repent and turn back to you, my one true love.
As the prophet wrote in Lamentations, "It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord" (3:26). Help me to remember that it is good to wait for you. In this place of waiting, help me to remember all that you have done for me through Jesus Christ. Help me to remember that your grace is sufficient to not only save me from sin, but to sustain me each and every day. Your grace is at work in me right now, transforming me and making me more like your Son. Nothing can separate me from you. I am safe in your love.
Help me to know more of the joy that comes from knowing you. Grant me joy in Jesus, joy in being your child, and joy in knowing that you are always with me. May I find hope in your word for as the psalmist wrote, "I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope" (Psalm 130:5).
May I live for you even while I wait. Help me to obey and remain faithful, no matter how long I am in this place of waiting.
In Jesus' name I pray, amen.
