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Author: Hope

Why Patiently Wait?

Why Patiently Wait?

I don’t think there is anyone that hasn’t wrestled with this before. Why do we need to wait sometimes before our prayers are answered? Can’t it just happen immediately?

Psalm 27:14 AMP Wait for and confidently expect the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for and confidently expect the Lord.

Years ago when I was a primary school teacher, God taught me something about prayers that don’t always get answered immediately. In that time, I had a lot of personal pain and issues that needed healing. My selfworth and confidence were nonexistent and I struggled to stay positive.

God gave us a mission as a class where we had to go and minister to a nearby school. We had to go into each primary school classroom and pray for the teachers and the students. This was something that I wasn’t confident in doing because of my insecurities. I did do it because I always wanted to obey God, even when all of me was against it.

During that time I had to push myself out of my comfort zone by obeying what I felt God told me to do. The Lord taught me not to go on what I feel because my negative emotions towards myself or others would betray me. I had to push against my feelings of being inadequate and believe what God’s word said about me.

God allowed me to teach His word to the children in my class every morning for devotions and by doing this, He started healing my pain and trauma from the past. He knows exactly when to put us in a place where He can heal us. He especially puts us in places where we do not feel adequate at all, where we feel more worthless than ever. Ever wondered why He allows that? It is to help you see that you have pain that needs Him to heal.

The one morning I was speaking to Jesus about revival and about Him wanting me to pray for our school and schools in our country for revival. I was very excited to see the fruit on my prayer for revival when it happened. God spoke to me and said that He won’t always show me the fruit on my labor. I was taken aback by this, but I chose to believe that God knew best and that He loves me. I told my collegue what God had said and without me knowing, she started praying that God would have mercy on me and show me at least a glimpse.

In my last month at this school, I called my class together for some prayer. The Lord showed me there was oppression in our midst and we had to sort it out. Everyone had a chance to speak and Holy Spirit fell on us and repentance and forgiveness started flowing from our lips. All of a sudden, the children made groups and started praying for one another, one girl stood on my chair, she took the Bible and started reading the word, the boys were praying, one Porteguese girl started walking up and down the classroom, speaking in tongues; some were crying, some were laughing. It was amazing. My collegue and I were standing amazed by what we saw, Holy Spirit had invaded the space and God was busy encountering each student in that classroom. My heart was overcome with joy because I had thought that God wouldn’t show me any fruit. My collegue then told me that she asked God to show me a glimpse of the fruit. I never saw the fruit of our prayer for the other school and I didn’t expect to see it, I trusted that God knew best and I surrendered to that.

Many years after this incident, I had still not seen fruit on my prayers and the effort I have put into peoples lives. After much healing, deliverance and dealing with my selfworth, I asked the Lord about the fruit thing. His answer was, “That time of your life you were struggling with legitimacy issues, I love you so much that I couldn’t give you what you wanted because if I did, you would’ve fallen into a trap by taking the glory for yourself. Pride would’ve swallowed you and the enemy would’ve wiped you out. I couldn’t allow that.” WOW, LORD!

One can easily think, “God doesn’t love me”, “I did something wrong and that is why God doesn’t answer me or give me my hearts desire.” Is this really true? We need to start thinking differently. God is LOVE and God is Good, always. Isn’t LOVE busy protecting you by not answering yet? When we pray, “Your kingdom come and Your will be done”, doesn’t it mean that we are asking God to intervene and do it the way He thinks best? What we desire or want is not always good for us – it can destroy us. That is why we ask that God’s will be done, so that He can save us from ourselves.

2 Thessalonians 3:3 But the Lord is faithful, and he will strengthen you and protect you from the evil one.

When God revealed to me why He didn’t show me the fruit of my labor I was so blessed. God’s ways are not our ways. I would’ve never thought God was busy protecting me by not giving me what I desired. I actually said to God that I don’t mind if He doesn’t show me the fruit; if this is a vulnerability in me, He can keep it away. All I want to do is please Him, do His will and walk in His ways. To be His hands and feet and to love and serve the broken.

Beloved, believe that He knows best, believe that He has got your back and believe that He will open the way. Expect Him to do it in His time and in His way. We know that in all things God works for the good of those who love him. Hang in there, He is always busy doing something behind the scenes while we are patiently waiting for an answer.

Let’s pray – Abba Father, what an amazing dad You are. Your ways are truly not my ways. I ask forgiveness for many times blaming You for leaving me and for not carrying my interests at heart, I repent. Please forgive me for getting mad and throwing tantrums when things don’t work out the way I think it should. I surrender to you Lord, I choose to give up my way so that Your kingdom can come and Your will be done in my life in Jesus name. Please have Your way in my life and thank you for protecting me because You love me. In Jesus name. Amen.

Psalm130:5 I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait,
And in His word do I hope.

Psalm 40:1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

Micah 7:7 But as for me, I will watch expectantly for the Lord;
I will wait for the God of my salvation.
My God will hear me.

Take Courage

Take Courage

Dear Beloved, I want to encourage your spirit today by proclaiming the word of God over you. You belong to God and He is your Abba Father. I want to remind you that you are not alone and you are not forgotten. God knows your name!!!

This is the word of the Lord for you.

Isaiah 35:4 say to those with fearful hearts,
 “Be strong, do not fear;
your God will come,
 He will come with vengeance;
with divine retribution
He will come to save you.”

Isaiah 54:10 Though the mountains be shaken and the hills be removed, yet my unfailing love for you will not be shaken nor my covenant of peace be removed,” says the LORD, who has compassion on you.

Psalm 50:15 Call upon Me in the day of trouble;
I shall rescue you, and you will honor Me.”

Isaiah 41:10 So do not fear, for I am with you;
do not be dismayed, for I am your God.
I will strengthen you and help you;
I will uphold you with my righteous right hand

Deuteronomy 31:6 Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid or terrified because of them, for the LORD your God goes with you; he will never leave you nor forsake you.”

Joshua 1:5 No one will be able to stand against you all the days of your life. As I was with Moses, so I will be with you; I will never leave you nor forsake you. 

Let us pray – Abba Father, my heart is overwhelmed and discouraged. Please forgive me for bending under the pressures of this world. I know my faith is wavering, but with everything in me I will myself to keep trusting in You, even if I can’t see. I choose to hook my eyes into Your word. Father, I pray Psalm 61:1-5 over myself:

1 Hear my cry, O God;
   listen to my prayer.

2 From the ends of the earth I call to you,
   I call as my heart grows faint;
   lead me to the rock that is higher than I.
3 For you have been my refuge,
   a strong tower against the foe.

4 I long to dwell in your tent forever
   and take refuge in the shelter of your wings.
5 For you, God, have heard my vows;
   you have given me the heritage of those who fear your name.

Thank you Father, That You will save me and help me, because You are true to Your word and You will do as You say. I will patiently wait on you as it is written in Psalm 40:1-2

1 I waited patiently for the Lord;
  he turned to me and heard my cry.
2 He lifted me out of the slimy pit,
  out of the mud and mire;
he set my feet on a rock
  and gave me a firm place to stand.

I pray this in the name of Jesus the Christ. Amen.

The Waiting Room

The Waiting Room

Isaiah 40:31 AMP But those who wait for the Lord [who expect, look for, and hope in Him]
Will gain new strength and renew their power;
They will lift up their wings [and rise up close to God] like eagles [rising toward the sun];
They will run and not become weary,
They will walk and not grow tired.

The last few days, Holy Spirit has been dropping this word over and over to me, “the waiting room”. I have been pondering on it a bit and I was wondering why the Lord is putting this on my heart so strongly.

In the last month or so, I have been receiving a lot of word about waiting on the Lord; God has been calling us to come to Him, spend time with Him and hear from Him. God has been really tugging at our hearts since lockdown to come deeper with Him so that He can show us what must take place, but many of us have been really waisting time with distractions.

Psalms 130:5-6 “I wait for the LORD,  my soul waits, and in his word I hope; my soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning, more than watchmen for the morning.”

Psalms 27:13-14   I believe that I shall look upon the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living! Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!

Coming back to the waiting room: What is a waiting room? It is a place where you sit or stand and wait for someone to see you. Eventually, when the waiting is over and you can see the person whom you were waiting for, you will be able to get the information that you need or the answers you have been waiting for. But, you first have to wait!

I feel God has been tugging at our hearts, especially this week before Pentecost (Shavuot), to just come and wait for Him. Don’t come with a list of prayers, just come and wait! Come and love on Him. It is an open Heaven time where God wants to pour His Spirit afresh out over us, where He wants to download things to us from Heaven and touch us. Things that we need for the season lying ahead of us.

Beloveds, let us not waste time and miss our King endowing us with that which we need for the season ahead. Let Him not pass us by without us even knowing it. Let us respond to our Saviour Jesus.

Let us pray: Abba Father, please forgive me for wasting time. Forgive me for not giving heed to your tugging at my heart to come to the waiting room. Father, I choose to come, I don’t want to miss you. My heart is saying, Your face I will seek. Pour out Your Spirit afresh on me. Have Your way and please download that which I need for the season ahead. In Jesus name I pray. Amen.

Psalm 27:8 AMP When You said, “Seek My face [in prayer, require My presence as your greatest need],” my heart said to You,
“Your face, O Lord, I will seek [on the authority of Your word].”