How to Wait on God While You Wait

I hate to wait. Slow traffic, grocery lines, plane delays, doctor’s offices – all drive me a little nuts.

Today I decided to get my hair cut. (Insert your own joke here. I still have some hair to cut, okay?) My favorite barber had another guy in the chair, and somebody was ahead of me. It turned out to be a forty-five minute wait.

But I’m learning to “wait on God” while I wait, so today I didn't fret and fidget like I usually do. I had a good prayer time with the Lord.

Why don’t we pray while we wait? Lots of reasons, I guess. It’s hard to pray with so many distractions. People talking, traffic noise, waiting room TV’s blaring. Plus, with the advent of the iPhone, it’s just as easy to text, surf the net, email, check the scores, or even catch up on reading.

Why not pray? Maybe “pray without ceasing” (1 Thessalonians 5:17) is meant for just such opportunities.

So, while it's hard to pray in a room full of people, or during a hot, honking traffic jam, it can be done. In order to overcome the noise and the chaos of waiting, I think you need two things: a prayer plan, and a way to focus.

I Hate Waiting

I hate to wait. One time I yelled at the microwave: “Come on!” Watching it count down from thirty seconds was just too much.

Waiting has unpleasant connotations. Waiting rooms are stressful, fidgety places where you sit uncomfortably until the doctor or dentist is ready for you. Or worse yet, where you wait while the one you love is undergoing some serious medical procedure whose outcome is unknown.

Waiting for me is often about my pride. When people “make me wait,” I think they don’t value my time, and thus they don’t value me. When I wait, I feel out of control. Time and outcomes are in someone else’s hands. 

One of the things I admire about Christ is how He waited. His patience was on display for 30 years. After Jesus’ birth and infancy, the New Testament gives us no information about the next three decades of His life beyond the single incident when He confounded the teachers in the Temple  at age twelve (Luke 2:46). 

He waited for thirty years. Not turning water into wine, not delivering demonized people or healing the sick, not preaching to multitudes. He was waiting. Working in the carpenter’s shop, taking care of His mother, brothers and sisters, being a good neighbor.