Short & Sweet: Wait a Minute

Wait on the LORD; be of good courage,

And He shall strengthen your heart;

Wait, I say, on the LORD!

Psalm 27:14

I must admit it.

I never thought it would happen to me, but it has. I have become one of those impatient people who, in a moment of delay, pulls out her phone to check in, check out or check up on the latest current social media events. Waiting is a lost skill — a discipline of a bygone era. As I recently heard Pete Wilson state in What Keeps You Up At Night, nothing in our society today trains us to wait. Microwaves, instant credit, overnight deliveries, one-click shopping hone our waiting muscles. I need to learn to wait a minute.

I remember the days of lay-away shopping.

My mother would take my sisters and me school clothes shopping in August (back then the first day of school was in September, not early August). We’d pick out a few new outfits and place them on lay away. Then each week my mom would make a payment. Finally in September, after weeks of waiting, we’d bring home our new clothes.

Green stamps and bubble gum wrappers.

S&H Green Stamps premiums, Bazooka Bubble Gum wrapper toys, and cereal proof of purchase box top prizes also required the discipline of waiting. For months we’d gather and save stamps, wrappers and

proofs of purchase in order to earn prizes. Most of the fun of earning one of these gizmos was the anticipation of what it would be like when IT finally arrived. Perseverance, delayed gratification, earning something by the sweat of the brow. Lessons well learned.

The benefits of waiting.

The Bible teaches about the benefits of waiting. The verse above lists one benefit — strength. Who doesn’t want or need a stronger heart?

Other benefits of waiting …

It strengthens our faith. John 11:15
It helps us gain courage. Psalm 27:14
It brings blessings. Isaiah 30:18
It helps us receive direction and guidance. Proverbs 3:5-6

I also believe waiting helps to establish an attitude of thankfulness and humility in our heart. It helps us to live in the moment instead of wishing our lives away. To live simple. To rejoice when we have. To rejoice when we have not. Learning to wait a minute.

Action Points:

What are you trying to push through that you need to wait on God for?
Are you a habitual rusher? Do your kids constantly ask are we in a hurry again? When was the last time you actually savored something? …a kiss … a piece of chocolate … a good movie … a cozy time with a toddler and a book?
Take a half hour and linger with God in silence today. You won’t believe how He will refresh your soul and strengthen your heart.

Life is sweet when you wait a minute.

Be Still Prayer

Jane VanOsdol

Listening to God has always been a practice that has intrigued me–and scared me. I am intrigued by the whole practice of contemplative prayer where I learn to listen to God’s voice while trying to silence my own voice and the other distractions around me. What scares me about it is the fear that if I do manage to quiet my own thoughts and requests that I won’t hear ANYTHING. What if God doesn’t respond to me at all? Sitting in silence seems kind of uncomfortable and … risky.

Well, the secular world has embraced the whole practice of quietness through the use of meditation. Many studies show the benefit of this practice from lowered blood pressure to stress relief–and that’s because God designed it to work that way. But, there’s a big difference between secular meditation or the New Age way and the Christian practice of contemplative prayer. God didn’t ever mean for us to pursue just the practice of meditiation; He meant for us to pursue HIM while we meditate on His word. And that’s a BIG difference.

A few years ago I became familiar with the practice of Lectio Divina, which is a form of contemplative prayer. This was introduced during a sermon one Sunday. A few months after that, I took a spiritual disciplines class at church and learned more about it. Then a few weeks ago, I purchased a book I’ve been looking at for awhile called BE STILL by Amy and Judge Reinhold. It’s a beautiful, little book that teaches the whole practice of Lectio Divina. Lectio Divina, I learned, is a Latin phrase and means divine or sacred reading, and this practice has been a part of church life for centuries.

This little book takes you through 31 days of learning how to incorporate meditative prayer into your prayer life. Basically, on each day you meditate on a new portion of scripture, rereading the same passage four times, as you let the Holy Spirit quicken God’s word to your heart. Then you record what God is impressing upon you–how it applies to you.

I have to say that my early fears have been unfounded. Each day I am learning new things and becoming aware of areas in my life that need some work! As I am halfway through the book, I am learning to appreciate the still time of waiting on God and what He has to teach me, instead of always being the one doing the talking. I still pray through my requests, but I just make sure to have listening and meditating time on His word as well.

And with the Holy Spirit as a teacher, there will always be a unlimited supply of exciting things to learn!

Have you ever tried this practice? I’d love to hear your experience on this journey of prayer.

Pray on!

Be Still

By Judge Reinhold & Amy Reinhold

Be Still and Know That I Am God, DVD

Take 5!-Wait Seek and Hope! by Mary Kane

At times, God calls us to wait on Him to act. While we are waiting we are to continue seeking Him. To do the study, Wait, Seek and Hope, just click on the link!