They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. – Isaiah 40:31
If you have been a Christian for a while, you probably have sung Isaiah 40:31 to a well-known tune. “They that wait upon the Lord, shall renew their strength, they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary, and they shall walk, and not faint.” And the ending lyric, “Teach me, Lord, teach me, Lord, to wait.” Yes, let your heart cry that to the Lord, “Teach me to wait on You!”
Often believers will pour out their needs and the needs of others to the Lord, and rightly so, but fail to take some quiet moment to be still, reading His word and inwardly listening to the voice of the Holy Spirit. Prayer is two-way communication. You may have been in a relationship where one person does all of the talking. That gets old after a while. If you’re the listener, you may wonder if your loquacious friend even cares what you think. Imagine God wondering the same thing when His people do all the talking and no listening.
In your quiet time this week, practice listening. Read a portion of the Bible and ask Him to reveal His rhema word to you. Rhema is the spoken word. It’s that moment when you read something you have read before, but the “light bulb turns on.” That aha moment! It lets you see how to apply His Word in your own circumstances. Pray for those aha moments. Allow the Holy Spirit to guide you in your prayers for the nation’s president, leaders, citizens, and issues.
Today’s Verse: Isaiah 40:31
but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
Recommended for further reading: Romans 8:26-32
26 Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. 27 And he who searches hearts knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. 28 And we know that for those who love God all things work together for good, for those who are called according to his purpose. 29 For those whom he foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the image of his Son, in order that he might be the firstborn among many brothers. 30 And those whom he predestined he also called, and those whom he called he also justified, and those whom he justified he also glorified.
31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things?
All Scripture quotations and audio are from the ESV® Bible (The Holy Bible, English Standard Version®), copyright © 2001 by Crossway, a publishing ministry of Good News Publishers. Used by permission. All rights reserved.
