The Practice of Prayer (5)

I would have lost heart, unless I had believed
That I would see the goodness of the LORD
In the land of the living.
Wait on the LORD;
Be of good courage,
And He shall strengthen your heart;
Wait, I say, on the LORD! Psalm 27.13, 14

An impatient generation
Let’s face it: Patience is not one of our strong suits. Everything in our culture is in a hurry. We expect things to get done right away, and we get irritated and impatient whenever we have to wait, whether it’s in line at the DMV, or for that promotion we’ve been expecting, or for our children to clean up their rooms on their own initiative.

We are not a people known for patience.

What better way to learn patience, therefore, than by practicing it in prayer? We can’t dictate to the Lord. He doesn’t operate on our schedule or agenda. He knows better than we do what we really need, and how best to fulfill that need. And He finds it useful and for our good for us not to know specifically what He has in mind at every moment.

Waiting on the Lord in prayer helps us to rest in Him and His good and perfect will. Waiting on the Lord in prayer can be a means to humble us, as well as a catalyst to lead us to rejoice. And it also works faith in us, who long to see the goodness of the Lord in the land of the living. What does this mean, to wait on the Lord in prayer?

Waiting in silence
In the first instance, waiting on the Lord means waiting in silence for the Lord to ready your soul for prayer. I mentioned earlier in this series that the throne room of heaven is a place of great holy and spiritual din. A lot is going on around the throne of grace, where you have come to find mercy and grace to help in your time of need. It is important, as we come into prayer, and as we continue in it, to be mindful of our surroundings.

After all, this is not the sort of thing we see every day. Although it could be.

In silence, let your mind survey the throne room of the Lord, reflecting on those many passages of Scripture that offer us a glimpse of that holy place. See with the eye of faith and understanding the myriads of angels and saints surrounding the throne. Listen to hear their praises. Smell the fragrances emanating from the Lord’s garment. Absorb the radiant glory of the place – its splendor, brilliance, majesty, and enormity. Let the nature and inhabitants of the throne room of the Lord set your heart right for prayer as you not only enter prayer in silence, but as you return to such silent contemplation at various times during your prayers.

Against the backdrop of that glorious landscape, and in the presence of those glorious beings, you will certainly be more attuned to your need for mercy. And, as you recognize that, by the Spirit of God and in the Name of Jesus, you belong in this place by birthright, you will delight and rejoice and be at peace there along with everyone else who belongs there, and thus find the grace there which can lead to praise and hope as your time for prayer comes to an end.

But you must be willing to wait in silence, listening as the Spirit escorts you into that venue He so variously and wondrously describes in His Word, and as the Lord Jesus receives you to sit with Him and make your requests known to God (Eph. 2.6). Wait in silence to take it all in, and to listen for the Spirit to prompt you with words beyond uttering to prepare to meet the Father in prayer.

Persevering in prayer
Waiting in prayer also requires that we be willing to persevere in prayer, both during the time we’re actually praying, and for the things we most earnestly seek from the Lord.

Jesus taught that persistence in prayer is a key to gaining the mercy and grace we require (cf. Matt. 7.7-11; Lk. 11.5-13; Lk. 18.1-8). It is more likely that we will grow tired of making our requests to the Lord before the Lord will tire of hearing them. Indeed, the Lord calls us to give Him no rest and to take no rest ourselves, until He pours out His blessings in and through His people once again (Is. 62.6, 7).

As we persist in prayer, we demonstrate and grow in faith in various ways, first, by showing that we trust the Lord concerning the reliability of His Word; second, by demonstrating confidence in the efficacy of prayer as the means whereby to realize mercy and grace we need; and third, by indicating our confidence in God’s willingness to hear and answer our prayers, according to His riches in glory by Christ Jesus. Waiting on the Lord through persisting in prayer thus strengthens our faith in the Lord as we wait on Him to bring forth His goodness in our lives, in His way and His time.

The practice of prayer will always be incomplete without significant periods of waiting on the Lord, both in the silence of prayer, as well as in the importunacy of it.

For reflection
1.  At this time, how much does waiting on the Lord factor into your prayers? In what ways?

2.  How can you see that waiting on the Lord in silence will help you to realize mercy and grace from the Lord while you are present with Him in prayer?

3.  Paul gave up praying about a certain matter at one point (2 Cor. 12.7-10). Or at least, he changed the way he prayed about the matter. How can we tell when one of our prayers may have arrived at such a state?

Next steps – Preparation: Where could you turn in Scripture to gain a better understanding of the landscape of the throne room of grace? How will you incorporate what you see there in your time of waiting on the Lord in prayer?
T. M. Moore
Each of our “next steps” exercises is tied into goals and disciplines involved in working your Personal Mission Field. If you have not yet identified your Personal Mission Field, watch the brief video showing you how to get started right away (click here). Learn how to work your Personal Mission Field by finding a friend and signing-up for our Mission Partners Outreach.

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Except as indicated, Scripture taken from the New King James Version. © Copyright 1982 by Thomas Nelson, Inc. Used by permission. All rights reserved.