Three Ways to Pray While Waiting

This last weekend we celebrated the resurrection of Jesus Christ. 

We know that Christ, being raised from the dead, will never die again; death no longer has dominion over him. Romans 6:9

My children are at a tender age of early understanding so we spent the week, Palm Sunday to Easter Sunday, lighting candles, reading, and remembering the stories of Holy Week, leading up to the crucifixion. Good Friday was a beautiful celebration, full of meaningful conversations. Our homebound Sunday service was simple, but rich and bright. But Saturday, the day between death and life, felt strangely quiet, almost out of place, with nothing to really do. 

What happened on the day Jesus was dead in the tomb? 

Josh Martin, author of Saturday Nothing, writes,

“It was the most agonizing day in human history. Picture hundreds of men and women lying in bed battling tears, staring at their ceiling, wishing the day before was all a bad dream. … Fog filled the air and the heart. The pain felt personal, even more than it should. ” 

I can almost imagine the overwhelming sense of confusion accompanying the grief of losing their beloved leader, teacher, and friend to a Roman cross. What would happen next? Where would they go? It was a Sabbath. There was simply nothing to do but wait.

Take Heart with 3 Ways to Pray

This month on the blog we are exploring ways we can respond to the trouble and suffering in the world, specifically as it relates to the current crisis of Covid19. What can we do while we’re stuck at home with nothing to really do but wait? 

Scripture teaches us that God is patient and that his patience has a purpose. 

“The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you,  not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” 2 Peter 3:9 

While He is capable of working things instantly He chooses instead to use time, giving us the opportunity to partner with Him.

“Not only that, but we rejoice in our sufferings, knowing that suffering produces endurance, and endurance produces character, and character produces hope, and hope does not put us to shame, because God’s love has been poured into our hearts through the Holy Spirit who has been given to us.” Romans 5:3-5

He works within us, transforming our hearts to be more like His.

Pray Humbly

Since the first time the snake whispered doubt in Eve’s ear, we humans have felt that we can make the best choices for ourselves. We think we know good from evil, right from wrong, but the Bible says we are like grass that is here for just a short time (Isaiah 40:7, 1 Peter 1:24). We don’t know what is best for ourselves, let alone what is right for the whole world. So we pray with humility, putting God in His proper place as King of the Universe and remembering that we are only exalted by His mercy. 

“O LORD, make me know my end

and what is the measure of my days;

let me know how fleeting I am!” Psalm 39:4

Pray with Trust

As we remind ourselves of our place in the world, we can rest in the knowledge that God is good, He knows our needs, and he wants to provide for us. He is trustworthy.

“For all the nations of the world seek after these things, and your Father knows that you need them. Instead, seek his kingdom, and these things will be added to you. ‘Fear not, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom.’” Luke 12:30-32

Pray Simply

Jesus taught his disciples to pray like children speaking to their Father who loves them. It’s not about putting on a big show or using fancy words. It’s not even about knowing what to ask for because He already knows what we need (Matthew 6:8).  Instead, our prayers should be about positioning our hearts to see what He sees, and to want what He wants. 

“Pray then like this: ‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name. Your kingdom come, your will be done, on earth as it is in heaven.” Matthew 6:9-10

Whether we want it or not, we are in a season of waiting.

“After Jesus defeated death and left the tomb, the first thing He did was visit His followers. He found them together in an upper room…they gathered, prayed, and hoped recklessly.” (Saturday Nothing)

We may not be able to gather, but we can pray and hope recklessly. It might look like nothing to us, but God is always working in the waiting.