Prayer and Praise...
Whatever you are waiting on, it takes character and patience and most of all trust, to wait. I'm not sure what people do about waiting if they have no belief in the Most High God. The One and Only God that gives comfort and hope and gives us His peace and His presence. I would think it would be mighty lonely and awfully hard to wait on my own without God in the scenario. Waiting for your health to get better, the perfect job, the child you have prayed for, the right relationship...etc. Waiting for answers or hopes and dreams takes up a big part of our lives.
It's hard to pray and keep praying and waiting for something or an answer, but after a long period of doing it I find that there is much to learn. If you have to do this for a long span of time and you are digging deeper into the Word and in fellowship with God your emotions go from fear and impatience to peace and deeper understanding of your needs and what God wants for you.
Trusting Him no matter what.
If you let that happen.
If you don't give up.
If you keep wrestling and praying and trusting.
Sometimes you see that the waiting and the lesson learned has really been about you growing closer to God and that you have learned to love Him to a deeper and more trusting level. Working through to that kind of faith that says you will trust Him no matter the outcome. You trust because your heart longs to be in His will and about His plan.
You know what is like to be without Him.
Being without Him is a like walking around in the summer in Death Valley or the Mojave Desert.
Dry. Lonely. Desperate. Lost. Thirsty.
This book has been a big help and has some great ideas and thoughts about praying about your biggest fears and dreams. One of the quotes by Mark Batterson:
(all words in italics are the words of Mark Batterson)
"God isn't offended by your biggest dreams or boldest prayers. He is offended by anything less."
I believe one of the biggest mistakes we make as believers is not being thankful even in the waiting time and in the hard times. I believe we might even need to get to a point that we stop waiting and praying for "it" and start praising God for "it".
Mark Batterson says, " True faith does not just celebrate ex post facto, after the miracle has already happened; true faith celebrates before the miracle has happened, because you know that God is going to deliver on His promise.:"
Most importantly, after you pray through, you need to praise through.
Praise Him for being there and for listening.
Praise Him for answering your prayers even if the answer might be different than you want it to be.
Pray and praise.
Being thankful is key.
We trust and wait and grow deeper in love with God in the waiting.
For more insight on Thankfulness: www.aholyexperience.com
Comments
Do you ever read John Ortberg? I'm reading his "God is Closer Than you Think" right now. Excellent writer and excellent book.