How to Wait Well: Pray and Praise

by David Chadwick

In order to develop muscles in the gym, people have to weight train. The same holds true for our spiritual walks. We must spend time in the “wait” room in order to learn to wait well. Waiting is a discipline that every follower of Jesus must learn to cultivate, especially as it pertains to us waiting for Jesus’s return.

I want to give you some tips as to how you can “wait train” and become stronger in the Lord as you develop eternal attributes. Until the day when we will see Jesus’s glorious return, we are to wait with great faith, hope, joy, and peace.

Pray and praise. That is today’s focus.

1 Thessalonians 5:17 says that we should pray without ceasing. Because the Holy Spirit lives in us, allowing us to be connected to God, we can pray all the time. As we drive. While we work. At the park with our kids. On a walk in the neighborhood.

Because of Jesus, if you choose to follow him, you can constantly lift up your needs and other people’s needs. It’s a continual conversation, day by day, minute by minute.

Jesus taught his disciples to pray because he knew it would forge muscles in their inner selves that would allow them to stand in the hardest of situations. We, too, must learn to pray in the same way that he taught his disciples to pray.

Philippians 4:4 says to praise, “Rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS!” In fact, Paul wanted to make sure that we really understood the power of praise so much that he said it a second time in the same verse, “Again I will say, rejoice.”

We thank God in and for all circumstances for he is working in them for our good and for his glory (1 Thessalonians 4:18). It’s God’s providence. He oversees all in this world.

Combine prayer and praise throughout your day. If Jesus were to return right now, let him find you in prayer, praising him for all he has done and is doing. Jesus delights in having his kids partake in union life with him.

How to Wait Well: Look Up!

by Marilynn Chadwick

Look Up! The personalized license plate on the car in front of me caught my eye. Look up! Two simple words, right out of Luke’s Gospel. Jesus was reminding his followers to pay close attention to the signs of the times. “So when all these things begin to happen,” he explained, “stand and look up, for your salvation is near!” (Luke 21:28 NLT). Believers all over the world celebrate a risen Savior. But there’s more to the story. He is coming back.

As Christians, we are encouraged to continually watch for signs of God through his Word and his work all around us. To be alert to his imprint on world events—God's big picture. But Jesus also wants us to be watching for his return. It’s vitally important that we be alert. But we should never become so fascinated with the “end times” that we simply cling to our sanity while waiting for Jesus to rescue us from this messy world. Surely, we were made for more.

What does it look like to be ready for Jesus’s return? Let’s consider the instructions to the church in 1 Peter. These believers were fiercely persecuted. They were always in danger of getting killed so they had plenty to worry about. These early Christians lived in what theologians refer to as “imminence.” They lived in a continual readiness for Jesus’s soon return.

Peter reminds them to live with the end in mind. But he doesn’t tell them to become obsessed with predictions, retreat to a survivalist community, stockpile their goods, or take up arms. He simply tells them to be ready for Jesus’s return by living as faithful believers:

“The end of all things is near. Therefore be alert and of sober mind so that you may pray. Above all, love each other deeply, because love covers over a multitude of sins. Offer hospitality to one another without grumbling. Each of you should use whatever gift you have received to serve others, as faithful stewards of God’s grace in its various forms” (1 Peter 4:7-10 NIV).

Dear friends, while we wait for the return of our soon coming king, we are instructed to remain alert and watchful so we can pray. Prayer helps us stay connected to God. We’re to love each other, forgiving one another and inviting others into our homes. We’re to serve others and administer God’s grace using the spiritual gifts and resources he's given to us. We’re to share his Good News with the least and the lost at home and around the world.

How should we keep watch for Jesus’s return? By being faithful. We remain ready and stay steady by doing the same things we should be doing every day. We keep watch by doing God’s will. Then when Jesus comes, he’ll find us ready for his return.

Come soon, Lord Jesus. Strengthen us so we may remain alert and watchful. And while we wait, may we be faithful to answer your call to a hurting and broken world.

How to Wait Well: The Secret Mailbox Club

by Marilynn Chadwick

I know whom I have believed and am persuaded that He is able to keep what I have committed to Him until that Day (2 Timothy 1:12 NKJV).

When our children were small, I taught them a practical lesson in prayer using what I called the “Secret Mailbox Club.” I made a mailbox out of construction paper and encouraged the children to write out their secret prayers on a piece of paper. We sealed them in an envelope, put the prayer requests in the mailbox, and raised the flag.

“Now let’s go about our day, trusting God to answer our prayers in his time.” The children would be surprised to discover later that some of their prayers had been answered while they weren't looking. I explained that our little mailbox game was similar to mailing a real letter. “When I put a letter in our mailbox, I’ve done my part, right?” “I have to trust the United States Postal Service to deliver my mail to the right place. So I raise the flag and walk away.” I added, “Wouldn’t it be silly for me to camp beside the mailbox anxiously waiting for the response to my letter?”

When we pray to God, we’ve done our part by giving him our request. The Bible says it this way: “Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him and he will do this” (Psalm 37:5 NIV). “Genuine faith hands its circumstances over to God, allowing him to work. He will never work until we commit” (from Streams in the Desert). There are times when genuine faith means we pray and walk away.

I have learned that sometimes, when I am gripped by a really big problem, the best way I can show God I trust him is to pray and walk away from the problem. I’m talking about those painful and stubborn problems which, short of a miracle, are not going away. I battled with infertility for many years before God answered our prayers for children. Perhaps you’re wrestling with a debilitating disease, a rocky marriage, an unpleasant job situation, financial hardship, or a wayward child.

We may have confidence that God is working in these troublesome situations. But if we watch too closely, we can get discouraged by the sheer magnitude of the problem and the slowness of the answer. That's when it helps to put that prayer in the “Secret Mailbox” and walk away.

I discovered there are lots of ways to find joy while our prayers are in the “Secret Mailbox” awaiting God’s perfect timing:

Learn something new or start a hobby.

Grow in your knowledge of God's Word.

Experience a mission trip.

Further your education.

Work on your eating or exercise habits.

Clean out the clutter in your home and give things away.

Explore your life’s calling.

Take time for fun and laughter.

Serve those who are hurting worse than you are.

Over the years, I've found that some of the largest prayers, my "big asks," have been answered in the most surprising ways while I was not watching!