The secret in waiting
GREETINGS beloved nation in the name of our Lord and Saviour Jesus Christ. At the start of the year 2022, many prophecies of greatness and prosperity were received by believers, many powerful themes and declarations were made. Now we find ourselves in the month of June and half way through the year 2022. How many of these prophecies and declarations have come to pass or are yet to come to pass? Many believers are finding themselves in situations where the things they were praying for and believing God for are yet to come to pass. Some believers are still waiting for these prophecies and promises to come to pass and they are becoming impatient with waiting.
Ladies and gentlemen, we are living in a society where people are always in a hurry, everything must happen fast, “khonapho, khonapho”. Very few people like to wait for anything, for example not many people like waiting in queues in banks or supermarkets. When people are made to wait, they easily start displaying signs of impatience, they get annoyed, upset and angry and tempers start rising. If waiting for such everyday issues causes so much impatience in people, what more waiting for your prayers to be answered and waiting upon the promises of God which can takes weeks, months or even years? Some people are finding themselves in situations where it’s now halfway through the year and they are not seeing the results and answers to their prayers.
What started off on a high note at the beginning of the year during the 10 day fasts, 21 day fasts, has not shown any results to those prayers so far. Some have become weary and faint in waiting. Brethren, waiting is one of the hardest parts of a believer’s life. Yet many a times in the Bible we read about God’s people being told to wait over and over again. The Bible tells us in Psalms 27:14, “Wait for the Lord, be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord.” So we see waiting for the Lord is not easy, the Bible encourages us to be strong and take heart, meaning that there are some who lose heart and give up on their prayers and on the promises of God. Psalms 37:7 tells us that, “Be still before the
Lord and wait patiently for him.” The psalmist encourages us to wait patiently. So meaning without patience it is difficult to wait.
Ladies and gentlemen, the secret to waiting is not just about sitting and doing nothing and folding one’s arms. There is a posture or an attitude that God expects us to take as we wait patiently for him to answer our prayers. When God is silent and has not yet answered our prayers, there are many reasons for that. He could be teaching us to patient and to learn how to wait on him. He could be dealing with our characters. He could be waiting for us to align with his will. Yet again He could be waiting for you to acquire knowledge in order for you to move to next assignment. Silence is a voice, so meaning when God is silent He is saying something. So as believers we need to get to an understanding that instead of complaining and grumbling about why God is not answering our prayers, there are things we should be doing as we wait. We need to get into the secret place as we wait, we need to be patient, we need to stand in faith and not allow unbelief to overcome us, we need to stand on the promises of God and contend for them in prayer.
In Acts 1:4, the Bible tells us that Jesus commanded the disciples to wait in Jerusalem. Jesus tells them, “Do not leave Jerusalem but wait for the gift my father promised, which you have heard me speak about.” Jesus gave them specific instructions in three areas; a) He told them what to do, to wait, b) He told them where to wait, in Jerusalem and c) He told them what to wait for, the promise of the father the Holy Spirit. We see that the disciples were praying as they were waiting. But one thing Jesus didn’t tell them was how long they would have to wait for the promise in Jerusalem. The disciples had no idea whether they would have to wait for one week, one month, one year or more. This is where some believers are finding themselves right now, they have been waiting and they don’t how long they have to wait for. Some are the point of giving up and walking away from their dreams. Some are wondering whether prayer is a waste of time because God has not answered their prayers so far. Ladies and gentlemen, I want to encourage you to wait and wait patiently for the Lord. The Bible tells us in Numbers 23:19, “God is not a man that he should lie, nor a son of man that he should change his mind, does he speak and then not act? Does he promise and then not act.” Because of who God is He can never violate his promises. If God says something, then He must by his very nature fulfil that promise.
If God has spoken something, it will happen because God cannot and does not lie. The posture we need to take as believers is one of faith, believing and trusting God that what He promised will surely come to pass. Waiting upon God takes faith.
The Bible shows us a great example of faith in the story about Abraham, the father of faith. Romans 4:20 tells us that, “He staggered not at the promise of God through unbelief but was strong in faith, giving glory to God.” Here we see that Abraham did not stagger in unbelief, but that he was strong in faith.
He and Sarah waited 25 years after the promise for the birth of Isaac. The Bible tells us that Abraham “considered not” his advanced age and that of Sarah. Yet “he was fully persuaded that God had the power to do what he had promised”. Wow what faith. He endured trials and grew in faith. In the end Abraham gave glory to God. When we stand in faith and believe in God’s promises we bring glory to God. Ladies and gentlemen I want to encourage you that even as the year progresses, let us wait patiently on God, in his silence He is at work in our lives.
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