21 Days of Fasting and Prayer - Here as in HeavenEsimerkki

The Weapon of Waiting Pt. 1

According to a recent study, the average person will spend five years waiting in lines. Six months of that waiting is at traffic lights alone! So, that means, in your lifetime, you will spend nearly 2,628,000 minutes waiting. With our culture's high value on speed and time management, the idea of waiting is often considered time wasted.

Biblically though, nothing could be further from the truth. Waiting could be considered a spiritual discipline vital to one's growth and maturity when utilized well. Psalm 62:1-8 recounts a waiting period King David experienced while fleeing his son, Absalom, who had stolen the allegiance of many in Israel.

During this incredibly challenging time, King David provides helpful direction when in a season of waiting:

"I wait quietly before God, for my victory comes from him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken. So many enemies against one man all of them trying to kill me. To them I'm just a broken-down wall or a tottering fence. They plan to topple me from my high position. They delight in telling lies about me. They praise me to my face but curse me in their hearts. Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him. He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will not be shaken. My victory and honor come from God alone. He is my refuge, a rock where no enemy can reach me. O my people, trust in him at all times. Pour out your heart to him, for God is our refuge." Psalm 62:1-8

Two times King David says he waits quietly before the Lord. The Hebrew word could also be translated as rest. It's the idea that although his situation is chaotic, his spirit is at rest, but how is that possible? The next verse tells us how: "He alone is my rock and my salvation, my fortress where I will never be shaken."

King David immediately turns his focus to God's nature. His hope is not in a dwindled army or that he's the true king, but instead anchored in the truth that God is his rock and salvation, and nothing will shake him to ultimate despair.

In times of waiting, the focus of our thoughts and words will create a fortress of fear or a fortress of faith. When you choose to make the characteristics of God the center of your focus, you will find your faith strengthened during your season of waiting. This turns waiting into a weapon that will thwart the enemy's plans.

Whether you're waiting for healing, that financial breakthrough, or the salvation of a loved one, utilize the weapon of waiting to transform your prayers into powerful arrows against the enemy.