Waiting on God is one thing I find difficult to do. Waiting on God is an act of Faith. It is just like acknowledging that you trust God’s plans for your life to be the best. Now the question is how do we wait on God? Do we just fold our arms and wait on Him? Do we try to do things our own and keep God out? The questions are numerous. But by God’s Grace, I have some tips I will like to share.
Philippians 4:6 “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”
Drawing from Philippians 4:6, what do I need to do while waiting on God?
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DON’T WORRY ABOUT ANYTHING:
You have to be doing something in-order not to worry about any of these things. Christians ought to be very hard working people. Emulating Jesus Christ means working hard. From a very young age, Jesus was very hard working. In Luke 2:45-52, Jesus was only twelve years old and was already working on something. He sat among the religious teachers, listening to them and asking questions. If we look at the life of Jesus we can tell how hardworking he was, teaching the Gospel, healing, traveling etc. Paul tells the Philippians “Don’t worry about ANYTHING”. Oxford dictionary defines anything as “a word used to refer to a thing, no matter what”. When someone tells you not to worry about anything it means he knows you are working on something or many things and he does not want you to worry about any of these things. In Matthew 24:14-30 we read about the parable of the three servants who were entrusted with money by their master be he went on a trip. When the master returned, two of the servants showed how well they had invested their money and earned more and the master appreciated them. One of the servants brought back the same amount of money his master had given him and the master called him a “wicked and lazy servant”. Then he ordered that the money of this servant be taken and given to the servant who had invested his money and earned more. This parable teaches us that while waiting on God just as the servants were waiting on their master, you have to be using the talents God has given you to invest. Deuteronomy 28:12 gives us a clearer view on this aspect of waiting as it says “The LORD will open the heavens, the storehouse of his bounty, to send rain on your land in season and to bless all the work of your hands. You will lend to many nations but will borrow from none”. So while waiting on God, keep doing the work you are called to do but learn not to worry about it and God will bless this work.
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INSTEAD PRAY ABOUT EVERYTHING:
Prayer is a means of communicating with God. It is very practical. Every good relationship needs communication. God loves us so much and desires to be intimate with us. He too will surely love to hear our voice. I live in a city which is about eight hours drive from where my father lives. My father usually calls me on phone and will want to talk with me for as long as he can. When he does not hear from me, he gets worried. Look at how my earthly father longs to communicate with me. Then what more of GOD? It is very easy for God to provide our needs because He owns everything in the Universe and everything is at His command. God can provide without waiting on your request but he most importantly wants to be intimate with us. Asking from God is an act recognition that God is the source of everything. (James 1:16-18). It is an act of obedience- “Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you” (Matthew 7:7). Prayer is beyond saying “Dear God” or “AMEN”. The motive of prayer is knowing God and the ultimate way of intimately knowing God is to meditate on the word of God. So in other words I would say one of the things to do while waiting is meditating on the word of God. Meditating on the word will help build your faith and build your hope on what you are working to achieve.
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TELL GOD WHAT YOU NEED, AND THANK HIM FOR ALL HE HAS DONE:
Sometimes, telling God what I need is so easy but thanking him when I have not yet received answers seems so difficult. I have come to learn what thanking God in every circumstance means. Thanking God (even when things seem not to turn out the way you want) is an act of FAITH. It is acknowledging that you can do your part but He has the perfect will for you. So present your request to God and while waiting on Him keep thanking Him for the way He will answer.
If He says “No” to your request, thank Him because it means the path you were going was not the right one.
If He says “WAIT” to your request, thank Him because He is waiting for the right time to provide for you.
If He says “YES” to your request, thank Him because that is His will for your life.
Thanksgiving is an act of appreciation and thanking God while waiting on His answer is an act of FAITH. It is usually said “Prayer is the Key to heaven but Faith unlocks the door”. So thanking God while waiting on his response may just be the right attitude to unlock the doors of heaven.