I waited patiently for the Lord; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry. – Psalm 40:1
There is a familiar pattern that we expect when we go to restaurants. Upon entering, we are greeted by a host, seated at a table, and given menus to peruse. After a few minutes a waiter comes by to take our order. Next, we must wait. Sometimes it can take a while before our food is delivered to the table.
As we wait, we know there are cooks working behind closed doors, preparing our food. Usually it comes in a reasonable amount of time, but we probably have all had experiences when we started to wonder if the food would ever come. We may even have started to think we had been forgotten. At some restaurants, a waiter brings appetizers, and that helps, but what we are really looking forward to are the meals we have ordered. At last, when our food has been fully prepared, it arrives to our table. Bon appétit!
In the focus verse, we read of how David waited on the Lord. He had earnestly prayed and cried out to God, yet his prayer was apparently not answered immediately. However, he did not doubt whether God was working, but simply waited patiently. In time, God helped him in a marvelous way. The following verses declare this as the Psalmist writes, “He hath put a new song in my mouth, even praise unto our God . . . Blessed is that man that maketh the Lord his trust” (Psalm 40:3-4).
There are times in our lives when we must also wait patiently on the Lord. We take our needs to Him in prayer, but sometimes the answer seems to take a while to arrive. Our faith is being put to the test, and there is only one thing to do: wait patiently. Remember, even though we cannot see what He is doing, we can trust He is preparing the perfect solution “behind closed doors.” He will never forget about us. We can hold on to the Bible promises and our past experiences of God’s faithfulness, knowing that when the answer is ready, He will send it our way.
If we have a need that the Lord has not yet resolved, we should continue to wait patiently on Him, trusting His timing and His ways. As we do that, we will see Him work in ways we never imagined. It seems that food tastes better when we have to wait for it, and likewise, answers to prayer feel sweeter when we have waited for them. God will not disappoint!