Worship While You Wait

By Cindy Martin –

Despite our culture’s drive to do more things faster, we still seem to spend more time waiting than we’d like.  We wait for red lights to turn green, slow grocery checkout lines to move along and our turn in the tech. support phone queue. If I’m honest, I’m quite impatient, and just writing about these scenarios arouses feelings of frustration within me.

While all these petty annoyances act as hurdles in my personal race through life, perhaps the hardest thing to wait for is God to answer my prayers. Beyond the usual angst that comes with waiting for most things, I sometimes wrestle with feelings of guilt or insecurity as I think, “I shouldn’t feel so anxious while I’m waiting, I should trust and not worry, but how do I do that? Should I be doing more? Have I done too much?”  Nagging questions, what ifs and second guessing can create a toxic cocktail in my mental blender that seemingly whirs and spins without end!

A question that I have often asked is, “What does trusting God look like with skin on it? What am I actually doing while I’m trusting and waiting and waiting and……?” Some dear friends of mine introduced me to the concept of worshipping while you wait. It is based on an account in scripture where those carrying the Ark of the Covenant would take a couple of steps and then stop to worship “the Lord God”, take a few more steps and again stop to worship “the Lord Most High.”

At first it didn’t seem all that transformational, but as I’ve chosen to worship God for His character and ability to meet me in my time of need, in addition to declaring my dependency on His all knowing and all loving ways, I have been transformed in my spirit and my perspective.  I no longer feel the need to beg God to hear my prayers or offer Him suggestions on how to answer them! Rather, worshipping while I wait for His answer allows me to bring my requests to Him and then frees me to trust His plan for myself and those I love.

Far from trite or cliche, worshipping while I wait has deepened my walk with God and let me experience what it means to live with my heart at rest. Yay, God!

Scripture: “I love the Lord because he hears my voice and my prayer for mercy” (Psalm 116:1 NLT).

Prayer:  “Lord Jesus, You are so worthy of our praise. Grant us grace to worship You as we wait for Your answers to our prayers. I am so grateful for the freedom worshipping You brings to our hearts and minds.”