“But those who wait on 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.” Isaiah 40:31 (NKJV).
Waiting on the Lord is one of the key ways of knowing the heart and will of God for your life. The Bible talks about how Jesus waited on the Lord in prayer for hours in the early hours of the morning. We see this in Mark 1:35 where it describes how Jesus would wake up before daybreak and go to an isolated place to pray. Jesus developed and maintained very frequent and regular fellowship with God through prayer, devotion and waiting in His presence.
This discipline enabled Jesus to always know wholeheartedly the mind of God. Jesus regularly talked about being one with the Father, John 12:47-50. He talked about only saying what the Father asked him to say and only doing what he sees the Father doing. You can see this evident in the way Jesus ministered, especially in the area of healing. In some instances he laid hands on the sick and they recovered; in some cases he just spoke a word and they were delivered; and in others he gave instructions on what to do.
Another example of someone in the Bible who really benefitted from waiting on God was Daniel. Daniel was known as someone who never missed his time of devotion, regularly waiting hours in the presence of the Lord. For this God was able to use him greatly in the area of the prophetic, and interpretation of dreams and visions. God showed Daniel so much of what was happening and going to happen that he was bold enough to put his life on the line. He went to King Nebuchadnezzar who was threatening to kill all the wise men in the land if none of them was able to tell him his dream and interpret it.
Daniel believed that if he and his friends prayed and waited on the Lord that God will reveal 'the secret' (the king’s dream) to them. What if God didn't show up with the revelation and interpretation of the king’s dream? It would certainly have meant death for Daniel, his friends and all the wise men.
Well God not only showed Daniel the king’s dream, but also gave him the complete interpretation. Daniel like Jesus Christ knew the heart and ways of God the father. This is a skill they developed by waiting on God through prayer.
As we begin to develop the art of waiting on God, we will begin to see our faith strengthened as God reveals more of his ways to us. We will see a change in our circumstances and experience a personal revival in various aspects of our life. We will also begin to hear God speak to us about specific things and situation in our lives. God may even reveal situations and issues relating to our unsaved loved ones, friends and family which may cause them to experience the power of God and through prayer even come to give their lives to God.
Let us make an active and bold step today to seek to draw close to God daily, by waiting in His presence.
