Lesson 13: Trusting God’s Timing

“Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord!” Psalm 27:14

It was early morning, and I was on day nine of a 31-day journey through a devotional called Waiting on God by Andrew Murray. During this time, God blew a “new life” breath into my heart. I was sitting quietly, with the Father, in our garden when God gave me a loud and clear call, “Call my body to wait on Me.”

Before I began this adventure with God, I thought waiting on God was biding my time, trying to fight impatience for Him to move and do something. However, I have discovered that the more I wait on Him — just simply being still and enjoying His presence — the more the love of Jesus and His Holy Spirit fills me and then seems to overflow through me. This happens whenever and wherever I go. Being still, quiet, trusting and dependent on God is the very heart of what it means to wait on God.

If you ask whether this is different from how we usually pray, the answer is, there may be much praying ‘with’ God but very little waiting ‘on’ God. We are often occupied with ourselves, our own needs, and our own efforts. In waiting on God the first thought is for God on whom we wait. We enter His presence and feel we need to be quiet so He, as God, can overshadow us with Himself. God longs to reveal Himself. Waiting on God gives Him time in His own way to come to us. It is especially at the time of prayer that we ought to set ourselves to encourage this spirit.


Before you pray, bow quietly before God, just remember and realize who He is, how near He is, how certainly He can and will help. Just be still before Him and allow His Holy Spirit to awaken and stir up in your soul childlike dependence and confident expectation. Wait on God as the Living God who notices you and hears you. Wait on God until you know you have met Him; prayer will then become so different.

When you pray, let there be times of silence in which you yield yourself to God in case He has something to teach you or to work in you. Waiting on Him becomes the most blessed part of prayer, and the blessing will be doubly precious as you experience fellowship with the Holy One. Waiting on Him is honor we give Him. Let us bring Him the service gladly and truthfully; He will reward it abundantly.

Andrew Murray invites us: "Dear Friend, begin to see that waiting is not one among a number of Christian virtues, to be thought of from time to time. It expresses that disposition that lies at the very root of the Christian life. It gives a higher value and a new power to our prayers and worship, to our faith and surrender, because it links us, in unalterable dependence, to God Himself. And, it gives us the unbroken enjoyment of the goodness of God: 'The LORD is good to those who wait for him.'”

Pray: Father, please give me the grace to pause, be still, to sit quietly, stopping my racing mind and emotions to just enjoy Your presence, right now…for 5 minutes…Thank you, Jesus, Amen.
Suggested scriptures to read: Psalm 46:10, Romans 5:1-21