Ways to Wait – The Presidential Prayer Team

O Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in you. – Psalm 39:7

How do you wait? People wait in different ways. Some people act as if they are waiting for a flight, biding their time with what’s around them or distracting themselves with their smartphones. Some people wait like a mother expecting her first child who doesn’t sit back to read or lounge for several months, she’s busy getting ready. Some people wait like a waiter at a restaurant, alert to a customer’s needs and ready to serve. Some people wait impatiently, tapping their fingers, fussing, feuding, complaining about everything.

When people wait on the Lord, they may use a combination of these methods. Busy about life, planning and expecting, being alert to serve. Then, at times, they wait in this life by fussing, feuding, and complaining. The people waiting for a flight have the hope that they will be taken where they expect to go. The new mother has the hope of a child to love and care for. A waiter has the hope of helping those he waits on and getting a reward for his labors. Impatient people expect those things in their timing, without anyone or anything getting in their way!

Put your hope in the Lord: the hope in living a fulfilled life, the hope of healthy relationships, the hope of going where you want to go, the hope of a reward for your labors. Wait on Him with patience and kindness. The relationship and an eternity with God are the Christian’s ultimate hope. Today, as you lift the nation to Him in prayer, ask that the Lord would deepen your understanding of your hope in Christ.

Today’s Verse: Psalm 39:7

And now, O Lord, for what do I wait?
    My hope is in you.

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: Psalm 37:1-11

Fret not yourself because of evildoers;
    be not envious of wrongdoers!
²For they will soon fade like the grass
    and wither like the green herb.

³Trust in the Lord, and do good;
    dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness.
⁴Delight yourself in the Lord,
    and he will give you the desires of your heart.

⁵Commit your way to the Lord;
    trust in him, and he will act.
⁶He will bring forth your righteousness as the light,
    and your justice as the noonday.

⁷Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him;
    fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way,
    over the man who carries out evil devices!

⁸Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath!
    Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil.
⁹For the evildoers shall be cut off,
    but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land.

¹⁰In just a little while, the wicked will be no more;
    though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there.
¹¹But the meek shall inherit the land
    and delight themselves in abundant peace.