Hearing From God While We Are Waiting
By Gina Stewart
I’m sure most of you have had the experience of calling a number to get help with something only to hear a recording that says something like, “we are experiencing extremely high call volumes, estimated wait time is 45 minutes. If you would like a call back rather than stay on the line, leave a call back number at the tone. Beep.” This kind of waiting can be frustrating.
Are you currently waiting to hear from the Lord? If not you, you likely know someone who is waiting. In Psalm 130, the psalmist cries “out of the depths” to the Lord. Like being cast into the depths of the sea, drowning in troubles, and feeling as if God has deserted. In the direness of his situation, he laments to God to end his misery of waiting.
However, even though he laments over God’s silence, somewhere along the path of his faith journey, he has learned to be submissive to God, to submit his prayers to Him and to trust that He hears. Though he waits like a “watchman,” who looks forward to the end of his overnight guard shift, he is hopeful in God’s great love! Because of this belief, the psalmist calls on Israel (all of God’s children; you and I) to submit ourselves to God in order that All/We might experience God’s redeeming love and power to free his people from sin and its consequences. The psalmist knew the power of prayer.
An example from my life
I prayed and waited 7 years for God to break the chains of addiction in my son’s life. I prayed for God to bring Justin home to me, to his family. I continued to pray, day after day, year after year. Over time, my prayer began to change. My faith had deepened as did my belief in who God is – Almighty, Creator, deliverer, redeemer, Lord of All, and more than I can comprehend. I realized that Justin belonged to Him, not me. My prayer became “Lord, bring him back to you, even if it takes him to his last breath.” As my prayer shifted, I had peace. Not long after, I received a call from Justin saying he wanted to get help.Praise God!! I will never again doubt the power of prayer.
An Invitation
It is the desire of your pastors and elders that Kitsap House be a community seeped in prayer and dependence on God. There are many examples of answered prayer related to this church plant. This Advent, you are all invited to join us in 24 hours of prayer, each day, for 7 days beginning 12/14 through the darkest night of the year, 12/21. There will be a prayer room setup and dedicated for this very purpose at our ministry house located at 703 Kitsap St. You will hear more about this as we get closer. For now, consider signing up to pray for a 1 hour slot, once, or more than once, over the course of the 7 days, in the prayer room at 703. There will be prompts provided in the prayer room for how to pray. Get creative! Consider how you might make this a time of family prayer, or group prayer. Let’s be a community that prays together and fill every slot for a week of 24/7 prayer. Sign-up Here.
May this be the beginning of a deep, consistent prayer culture in our church!
Gina Stewart, Elder
