What Do You Do While…
By Rick Warren
“Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (Psalm 37:7 NLT).
What does God want you to do while you’re waiting on an answer to your prayer?
Psalm 37:7 says, “Be still in the presence of the Lord, and wait patiently for him to act” (NLT). God wants you to wait patiently for him to answer your prayer.
Have you noticed that we can endure waiting as long as we can grumble while we wait? We tolerate waiting in the DMV line as long as we can gripe and complain about how lousy and ineffective the government is.
But God says, “Be still.”
Like little 2-year-olds, we get the spiritual wiggles while we’re waiting for God to answer a prayer. We get nervous and restless. We want to jump up and do something. But God says, “Wait patiently. Be still. Watch me act. Don’t get restless, don’t get nervous, and don’t try to take matters into your own hands.”
And don’t ever make Abraham’s mistake in the Old Testament of trying to be the answer to your own prayer. It will cause all kinds of problems! One day God promised to make Abraham the father of a great nation. There were only two problems: Abraham was 99 years old, and he was childless. Abraham looked at his own body and said, “No way, José!” And he looked at his wife, Sarah, who was infertile, and said, “Double no way! It ain’t gonna happen.”
So Abraham took matters into his own hands and had a baby with his wife’s maid, Hagar. Abraham said, “Here’s my answer to prayer! I’ve got a son at 99. His name is Ishmael.” God said, “No, no. You missed the point. That’s not my answer to prayer. That’s your answer to prayer. I’ve got a miracle boy who’s coming, and Sarah’s going to be the mom. You’re going to name him Isaac.” Isaac means “laughter.” When Sarah was told that she was going to become pregnant, the Bible says she laughed because she didn’t believe God.
But God had the last laugh. Isaac was born, and it started an intense rivalry between him and Ishmael that we’re still paying for today. The tense relationship between Jews and Arabs all began because Abraham tried to answer his own prayer request.
Whenever you try to answer your own prayer, you’re asking for trouble. Instead, wait patiently, and watch God act.
PLAY today’s audio teaching from Pastor Rick >>
Talk It Over
How can you focus on God while you’re patiently waiting?
What are your tendencies when you are waiting on God to act? What do you do after you request something of him in prayer?
How have you grown spiritually during a time when you had to wait on God?
For more Daily Hope with Rick Warren, please visit pastorrick.com!
Gain confidence in your prayer life
Prayer is a simple concept. It’s just a conversation with God.
But at the same time, prayer can be intimidating. After all, you’re talking to the Almighty! It can be hard to know how to ask for your requests, and anticipate how God will answer.
That’s why Rick Warren’s just-released resource called Experience God’s Power Through Prayer is so powerful. It’s not a passive book to simply read, but an interactive, guided experience to help you gain confidence in your prayer life.
Experience God’s Power Through Prayer shows you how to…
• Develop a daily habit of prayer
• Pray expectantly for yourself and others
• Trust God to answer your prayers
• Understand the benefits of memorizing Scripture
• Express your gratitude to God
• Cultivate a courageous faith
Experience God’s Power Through Prayer is our gift to thank you for your donation to help more people learn, love, and live the Word through Daily Hope. So request your copy when you give below.
Thank you for making an eternal investment!
This devotional © 2017 by Rick Warren. All rights reserved. Used by permission.
You can listen to Rick Warren on OnePlace.com.
