Don't let waiting be wearisome

I wait for the Lord, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope.  Psalm 130:5


Most of us, I imagine, hate being kept waiting. That bus that won't come; that long queue at the bank; that time when the doctor's surgery is "running late"... Grrr! In our frantically busy world it's natural to feel frustration and annoyance.

But times of waiting can in fact be positive and useful. If you know you are likely to be kept waiting you can, of course, always come prepared with a book or paper to read or a puzzle to do. Even if not, you might be able to have a chat with someone else, even if they are a total stranger - who knows, it might make their day; it might even change their life! Have you ever thought of using that "dead" time in, say, the doctor’s waiting room to look around and pray silently for your fellow-patients?

Waiting can be an important part of the Christian life. This applies especially to the matter of prayer. When we pray we would naturally like answers quickly. Sometimes - just sometimes - it happens like that. But very often it doesn't.

That's when we need to remember that God is the only person who knows absolutely every factor in the situation that's on our minds. Only he knows that a speedy answer that suits us might throw other things out of gear. Perhaps that's why the Psalmist adds those little words "and in his word I put my hope". It's as if he is saying, "I refuse to let a bit of a delay dampen my trust in God! I take it by faith that my prayers are not in vain. Why? Because his word gives me that assurance."

There are two main ways of waiting: passively or actively, negatively or positively.

The passive waiter (sorry, I don’t mean the man in the restaurant) folds his arms (so to speak), sits absent-mindedly looking at the wall-paper, and says "All right, Lord, here I am, bring it on." I think there are some people who go right through their lives like that, vaguely hoping for the best. They always end up disappointed and unhappy.

All right, to be fair there are times to let your mind lie fallow, so to speak, and quietly digest what’s going on in your life. But even that inactivity can be a positive thing. (What was it the poet said? “What is this life if, full care,/ We have no time to stand and stare?”) That’s different from just vacantly brooding, that dreary thing we call “killing time”.

The active waiter, on the other hand, having made known to God their need, rolls up their sleeves and gets on with something useful. Aren't there usually various good things we could be doing with our time?

This doesn't apply only to prayer - it can be true of life in general. In Acts 17:16 we read that Paul, having been chased out of a town called Berea, found himself in the ancient city of Athens. He had nothing to do but wait for his friends Silas and Timothy to join him.

So what does he do? - sit around twiddling his thumbs? No. He walks around the city informing himself about the people of Athens. He gets the feel of the place. He gauges the religious atmosphere. He gets involved in discussions and debates with people who know nothing of Jesus. Probably without realising it, he is collecting sermon material through this “dead” time - and when the opportunity is given to him to speak, it bears real fruit: several men and women become believers.

Back to the psalmist. He says that his soul waits for God “more than watchmen wait for the morning”. I imagine that must be hard - waiting through the dark hours for the first glimmerings of light and the start of a new day: ah, what a wonderful thing dawn can be!

Are you in such a phase of your life at the moment? Finding it hard? Well, whatever your circumstances may be, the message is simple: Pray hard, yes. Wait expectantly, yes. But don't forget also to look for ways to maximise even the most barren times. God will not fail you.


Father, I confess how impatient I can be. Please help me to believe that "my times are in your hands”, and that if there is a delay then there is some good reason for it. As you waited so patiently for me to come and put my trust in you, so help me when I am called on to wait patiently for you. Amen.