Waiting

One of the most counter cultural components to prayer is that it is not quick.  Human communication has evolved over time from oral to written to now digital, yet prayer has remained the same.  The human emotion expressed by King David in the Psalms are the same base needs we have thousands of years later.  They are requests, praises, and laments that have been repeated over time.

 

A huge challenge we face in modern society is that we want to have immediate feedback, but prayer requires that we wait upon God. 

We wait, unsure whether he heard our request. 

We wait, unsure he agrees with our request.

 

We wait.

 

But this is the same waiting that King David experienced when he prayed Psalm 13:

“How long, O Lord?

            Will you forget me forever?

How long will you hide your face from me?

            How long must I bear pain in my soul?”

 

This process of waiting, however, is also a refining process.  It helps us keep our attention on what is the most important and not the most imminent.

 

And it is through to process of waiting, that we are able to pray with David what he says at the end of Psalm 13:

            “But I have trusted in your steadfast love;

                        My heart shall rejoice in your salvation.

            I will sing to the Lord,

                        Because he has dealt bountifully with me.”

 

We wait, with hope.