Ironically, it has taken me quite some time to write this prayer (nearly three years!). I've been dissatisfied with it in one way or another, and so have left it unfinished, waiting until the words came to me. Most people wait for good things, like a decent job, a marriage, relief from medical conditions, reconciliation with a loved one, a hoped-for future circumstance, or release from all-too-present difficult circumstances. However, it is so easy to be distracted in our waiting, to allow a good vision to eclipse our view of our God, or to begin to view Him simply as a means to the end for which we wait. However, there is no shortage of Scripture which boldly proclaims that our waiting, if done with trust in the Lord rather than for a change in circumstance, is a blessed waiting, rewarded with the treasure of confidence and contentment derived from nearness and dependence upon God.
Saints all throughout Scripture have waited on the Lord, some longer than others, and some in more difficult circumstances than others. I think of the woman with the issue of blood waiting 12 years to be healed by a touch from Jesus, or Abraham and Sarah waiting almost 100 years for a child, or the Hebrews waiting for freedom from Egyptian slavery for 400 years. As a matter of fact, the whole of the story of the Bible could be cast in terms of expectant waiting on the Lord to rescue His world and His people. Scripture has endless stories of those who wait on Him being rewarded, however it is in the waiting where they learned something much deeper of His love and care for them. How then can we despise waiting when the Lord so often uses it to bless His people?
But the Lord has not left us waiting without provision, but offers many avenues for refreshment in our patience, including His word, the Lord's supper, the fellowship of believers, and prayer. Waiting need not imply motionlessness or inactivity, but acting in faith until that time comes when God shows you how he will answer your prayer, perhaps in a way you didn’t expect and couldn’t imagine. One thing is certain, and that is that the Lord wishes to meet you in your waiting, using it to show you more of Himself and drawing you to Him. My hope is that this prayer may meet you in your waiting, draw your eyes up to Him, and use His words and promises to sustain you. Over time, this way of waiting on the Lord loosens our white knuckled grip on hoped for circumstances, and roots it instead in Hope itself, the Lord Jesus Christ, who is called "the living hope."
To the One who sees, hears, and knows, We are an impatient people, and we prefer swiftness to slowness. But you are not so slow as we surmise, and we are not truly delayed without cause, for who knows your mind, or your sure purpose in my waiting? But I am often unaware of the fineness of Your tuning, blind to the gears, engaging, You set for my good. We have been disquieted over days, moments, and seconds, But you are the Lord who acts at the right time. We are loath to linger, and we despise delay, But you have called those who wait on you blessed. I have felt myself fading, frustrated and frenzied as I wait, But is my impatience improper? Have I lost sight of that Hope which lives? In my own waiting, have my desires diverted me from You? You have said that those who wait on you will have their strength renewed, that they do not grow weary in their walk; that goodness and blessing wait too, for the one waiting in You. that hearts are glad, and souls refreshed whose waiting is in You. You are both strength and shield to those waiting on You, both my barrier to protect and the vigor which raises it steadfast in my defense. Remind us that we are not alone in our waiting, that our brothers and sisters in days past waited similarly, whether for freedom or comfort, healing or a home. Whether wilderness wanderings or imprisonment, either exile or injustice, waiting on the Lord has always been the portion for his people. Yet we wait on the Faithful One, where waiting is blessing, not curse, for He who will answer is trustworthy. Let us learn their lesson then, that waiting is no cause for despair, but your means to make faith mature, for a blossom is more beautiful than a bud. While we wait with eager longing, preserve us as we humble ourselves in hope. For we will not always wait, nor is our waiting in vain or idle, but You work wonders within us, in and through our waiting. So let me not await your appointed time with anxiety, but instead as an occasion for hope and trust, knowing that my true hope is nearer now than when I first believed. Amen.