DEVOTIONS WITH PASTOR BOB 6 Practices in our Christian life #3 “Wait for His Answers” (lesson 1)

DEVOTIONS WITH PASTOR BOB

6 Practices in our Christian life

#3 “Wait for His Answers” (lesson 1)

"I Love The Lord" - Tommy Walker

https://youtu.be/2MCeGgwmmLI

 

Have you been praying about a situation in your life?

Have found yourself waiting and yearning for the answer?

Are you wondering why the answer hasn't come yet?

Do you feel like God is passing you by?

 

Sometimes we pray long and hard about for something, without receiving any answers.

We then go on about our business, wondering if or when God will ever send the answer.

God always answers prayers in one of 3 ways; YES, NO, OR WAIT.

But God hear our prayers.

He’s working out the answers even though we may not know all the details.

Our situation can change suddenly, and quickly, without warning!

But one thing is certain:

Before God moves suddenly, we will all wait.

Waiting for answers is a fact of life.

No one gets out of waiting.

So, the question is not, “if we will wait, but rather how we will wait?

How we spend our time waiting can also determine how long we will wait.

 

 

THERE ARE 2 TO WAIT:

 

1 - WAITING PASSIVELY

A passive person hopes something good will happen and is willing to sit around waiting to see if it does.

But after a short time, they give up, saying, "That’s it, I've waited and waited and nothing has happened.”

The passive person has a lot of wishbone, but not much backbone!

 

 

2 - WAITING EXPECTANTLY
The expectant person, on the other hand are hopeful.

They are believing the answer is just around the corner, that it is due to arrive at any minute.

Their belief is not a passive thing.

Their hearts are full of hope, expecting their problem to be solved at any moment.

They wake up every morning expecting to find His answer.

They may wait and wait, but suddenly what they have been waiting for happens.

 

ILLUSTRATION

Waiting is just like when a woman who is pregnant; it's said that she is expecting a baby.

She carries inside her the promise of a baby, and even though she can’t see it, she knows it's there.

The moment she learns of her pregnancy, she begins to plan for her baby's arrival.

She starts collecting items she'll need and busily gets the nursery ready.

She actively prepares for the arrival of the baby because she knows the promise will be fulfilled—it's just a matter of time.

She is expectant, and she'll wait as long as it takes.

 

THE WORD WAIT, MEANS "TO EXPECT" OR "TO LOOK FOR."

It also means TO SERVE, just like a waiter, who waits on your table at a restaurant.

Our act of waiting isn’t supposed to be spent sitting around passively hoping that something will happen sometime soon.

 

WHILE WE WAIT, WE SERVE!

 

 

BE EAGER WITH FAITH

Once we've asked God to answer a question, or solve a problem, we need to be eagerly awaiting His answer.

We need to be serving actively, aggressively, and expectantly.

When our hearts are eager to hear from God, He loves to rush in suddenly with His solution.

 

 

WAITING PREPARES US FOR THE ANSWER

In many cases this waiting period actually serves as a time of preparation for the answer.

If God answered us right away, many of us would be ill-prepared to handle His solution.

Sometimes we find ourselves in such horrible messes that it's hard to imagine waiting one more second.

But we need to keep waiting on God and trusting Him with a sweet and simple faith.

Then in a way we never could've figured out on our own, God moves suddenly!

 

 

THEN ALL OF A SUDDEN

In the Bible, Paul and Silas knew about waiting, and they waited well. 

In Acts 16, Luke tells the story of how Paul and Silas were attacked by a crowd, beaten and thrown in jail. 

Verse 24 says the jailer put them into the inner prison (the dungeon) and fastened their feet in the stocks.

These jailers were making sure that they couldn't escape.

But about midnight, God showed up!

Now it would have been nice if He'd come a little earlier, but Paul and Silas didn’t seem to mind.

• They had decided to start singing,

 

• They began to worship the Lord,

 

• They began to wait on God.

 

 

When we patiently wait, and when we expectantly wait on God in the midst of horrible circumstances, suddenly God breaks through.

So, don't give up!

Don’t stop believing!

Stay full of hope and expectation!

God's power is limitless, and He'll breakthrough for you!

 

 

When I Don't Know What To Do Tommy Walker

https://youtu.be/LZOf7_c7oto

 

PRAYER

Dear Father we thank you that you do all things well. This includes answering our prayers. You know how difficult it is for us to wait on You for the answers to our prayers. We thank you that you have shown us how to wait for those answers. We know You love and care for us and that we are in your everlasting care. So, we wait for you and while we wait, we will serve. In Jesus name we pray, amen!