14th November 2024
When waiting on God
Part of a series on prayer
How long, Lord, must I call for help, but you do not listen? Or cry out to you, ‘Violence!’ but you do not save?
Habakkuk 1:2 (NIVUK)
Waiting on God when he hasn’t yet answered our prayers is one of the hardest places to be. Our prayers often start out being bold and expectant but as time rolls on, and we find ourselves still waiting, they can become less bold and less expectant. We may begin to wonder: ‘Is God listening?’, ‘Does God care?’, ‘Why doesn’t God do something?’ One thing we need to remember is that waiting on God to answer can test our faith, but not God’s faithfulness, or his kindness.
Habakkuk was a man who had to wait on God long past his own timescale, and he came to God with some hard questions. Judah teemed with immorality, cult worship and injustice. Why was God waiting so long to do something? Habakkuk’s conversation with God gives us some pointers to think about when we’re waiting on God to answer our prayers.
When waiting on God, bring hard questions to him, rather than letting those questions drive us from God (Habakkuk 1:2). When we give God our hard questions, we surrender control, we let go of burdens that are not ours to carry, and exchange our worry for his peace. He may slowly peel back the layers of our understanding, and in that gap where there is no explanation, we have to simply trust. God hasn’t called us to understand everything, but he has called us to follow.
When waiting on God, realise God’s answer to our personal situation may hinge on a larger plan (v.5). If we could see all that God is orchestrating, we might understand why we are waiting. Sometimes we have to wait for God to answer our prayer because our situation is only a small part of the larger work that God is doing.
When waiting on God, realise God is at work even when we can’t see Him (v.5). God is always at work, even when we haven’t discerned it, or can’t see it. God’s silence never indicates God’s inactivity.
When waiting on God, reaffirm who God is so we can press on through the wait (v.12). Waiting can cause all kinds of doubt to surface, yet God often reveals himself in our wilderness times, as he did with Hagar, Abraham, Moses, Elijah and Israel.
When waiting on God, trust that God’s timing is perfect (Habakkuk 2:3). God is always on time and never late, but God’s time frame is not our own. It’s never too late with God and the waiting is never wasted. God will always fulfil his promises at the perfect time.
Waiting on God for an answer is never easy but Habakkuk’s experience can help us wait with trust and expectation.
Prayer
Loving Father, thank you that you answer our prayers in your perfect time. Help us to pray by faith, to believe, wait, and then move forward in your timing. Help us to be patient in prayer, to not give up, and trust you even during moments when we feel negative emotions. Help us not to take matters into our own hands, but to choose to trust you. Deepen our understanding and give us a greater knowledge of what you are doing in our lives Thank you that you have all wisdom and will answer our prayers in the perfect way. In Jesus’s name, Amen.
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Study by: Barry Robinson About the author: |
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Local congregation:
Grace Communion West Hampstead
Sidings Community Centre
150 Brassey Road
West Hampstead
London
NW6 2BA
Meeting time:
Sunday 12.30 pm
Local congregational contact:
Gordon Brown
gordon.brown@gracecom.church
Word of Life contact:
wordoflife@gracecom.church