“I will . . . station myself . . .” (Habakkuk 2:1 NIV).
If you want to get God’s vision for your life and ministry, you must want to hear it, you must withdraw to hear it, and then you must wait to hear it.
The New International Version says, “I will . . . station myself” ( Habakkuk 2:1 NIV). What does it mean to station yourself before God? It means stay put. It means, “I’m not moving.” It means, “I’m going to be still. I’m going to sit here and I am not going to move until I hear from you, God.”
Hurry is the death of prayer. And, as pastors, we feel all kinds of pressure to get in a hurry. Yet God won’t speak to us as we run out the door. He wants us to care enough to linger and listen in our prayer time.
So many times, we’re running so revved up, we can’t slow down enough to tune in to God.
So, how do you slow down? You calm your mind by relaxing your body. You take deep breaths and you relax your muscles and let the tension drain out.
The Bible says David sat before the Lord. Some people think you have to kneel in prayer, and that is one of many appropriate ways to pray; but it’s not the most common way of praying in the Bible. The most common form of praying in the Bible is standing with your eyes wide open looking up to heaven and talking out loud to God.
You already know, pastor, that you don’t have to have a speech. You don’t have to be poetic. You don’t even have to speak in complete sentences. Just talk to God like you would normally talk. But then, like any conversation, stop talking and listen – wait to hear from God.
David says there are three things to do as you wait:
- Wait quietly — “Let all that I am wait quietly before God, because my hope is in him” (Psalm 62:5 NLT).
- Wait patiently — “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (Psalm 37:7a NLT).
- Wait expectantly — “I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised” (Psalm 130:5 TLB).
And this is so important: you must expect to hear from God. There are so many pastors I talk to who do not expect God to give them a dream or an insight. They don’t say that specifically, but their behavior and attitude indicate they are no longer waiting on God.
But waiting is the faith factor. We wait expectantly, and waiting on God is never a waste of time. In fact, it’s some of the best time you will ever invest in your ministry.
I will stand up with my eyes open and my head lifted to heaven and I will pray to God while having a heart to heart conversation. I will then hush my mind mouth and spirit and wait to hear from God
So profound! I love this! Thank you for great insight!
I will wait on the Lord and have faith all on him for I know that you will bring all that I need and want. So lord keep me safe and keep my eyes and heart on you.
i struggle so much with faith..
Awesome advice concerning prayer waiting on God. Not a pastor, but evangelist with desires to preach accuracy concerning the Word of God. Thank you for the opportunity to view your site.
Fantastic Rick! Thank you for sharing. “Hurry is the death of prayer” is a great quote and so true. We started a transition in our church (that we started in 1996) about a year ago. It has been quite the year of change. If not for my time in prayer, I really believe we would have quit. Now we are on the very front end of a season of growth. There is lots of momentum. There is energy and excitement. We have seen many come to faith in Jesus this summer.
We also started two churches out of Alliance in the last year with staff members. Again, if not for prayer we would have really questioned those decisions. Even today, I had to remind myself that time spent in prayer is more important than the text messages waiting, and emails piling up and the message to finish.
Great reminder and I believe I’m living it right now.
Thanks again,
Terry
Dear Rick, Thank You for this great article. I’d appreciate any insights on this:
January 2013, I prayed for a change that is very personal & deep within me. As I made the prayer, I knew that several issues needed to be altered first. Back then, I didn’t know if God’s will was is answer me with a downright “no” or with simply a “wait”. As a “no” was an unbearable answer for me, I chose, back then, to accept God’s answer as a “wait”. Believing this kept me hopeful, functional & calm. 1 year has passed now and nothing has changed. I have waited patiently and expectantly. I have kept my faith even when I have wanted to give up on God. I am prepared to wait a lifetime for God’s will. But the questions that bother me now is: “was I wasting my time waiting? Was God’s answer “no” all along?” I have asked God these questions & haven’t received an answer to these either. I will continue to strengthen my faith and live a blessed Christian life. However, I don’t want to continue praying for something that isn’t God’s will. I could use my time & faithfulness elsewhere. How am I supposed to know whether it’s time to give up on this change? Thank You.