Waiting in Hope: Psalm 40-Supplication through the Scriptures
Waiting in Hope
Psalm 40
Answer to prayer may not be immediate, but perseverance in prayer expresses itself in humble submission to God’s sovereignty and the longing for a “new” expression of God’s covenant faithfulness.
Willem VanGemeren
In our western culture, waiting is not usually something we are accustomed to. We live in an instant messaging, easy access, immediate response age, with most of those things happening right in our hands with a simple touch or swipe. I suppose, though, that for the sinful human heart, patiently waiting has always been a struggle.
The Scripture exhorts us to “wait patiently for the Lord” (Psalm 37:7), and “continue steadfastly in prayer” (Romans 12:12), and Jesus told the parable of the persistent widow in order “to show that at all times they ought to pray and not lose heart” (Luke 18:1).
What situation have you been praying about and waiting for the Lord to act? Many years may have already passed and still there seems to not even be a hint of an answer. Perhaps there have been changes in the situation or person, but they are such small minute changes that it seems the answer to your prayer is taking a long time in coming. It can be discouraging to wait. But this morning, let’s ask the Lord to revive our hearts again to seek Him for that burden and to wait patiently, filled with hope that He knows, He is inclining Himself toward us, He will put a new song in our mouths, and He is faithful.
Waiting Patiently
40:1-3 I waited patiently for the Lord; he inclined to me and heard my cry. He drew me up from the pit of destruction, out of the miry bog, and set my feet upon a rock, making my steps secure. He put a new song in my mouth, a song of praise to our God. Many will see and fear, and put their trust in the Lord.
Let’s pray:
▫️The God of hope would fill us with all joy and peace in believing that we would abound in hope by the power of the Holy Spirit (Romans 15:13).
▫️As we wait to see the Lord’s work in our situation, we would have a patient endurance that is confident in the Lord’s care and wisdom.
▫️We would remember past deliverances when the Lord rescued us from the pit of destruction and the miry bog. Where have we seen the Lord’s faithfulness previously? Let’s thank Him now.
▫️As we feel stuck in our current circumstance, the Lord would make our feet to be firmly planted in His character and His Word. What promise from His Word or what attribute of God can strengthen our hearts today while we are waiting?
▫️He would put a new song in our mouths, a song of praise to Him that would cause many to see and fear and put their trust in the Lord.
The Lord is Our Trust
40:4-5 Blessed is the man who makes the Lord his trust, who does not turn to the proud, to those who go astray after a lie! You have multiplied, O Lord my God, your wondrous deeds and your thoughts toward us; none can compare with you! I will proclaim and tell of them, yet they are more than can be told.
Let’s pray:
▫️We would know the blessedness of trusting in the Lord and resting securely because He is trustworthy, even in the long wait.
▫️We would not turn aside to lies. We would not make up lies about our situation, lie to ourselves or others, or believe lies about how we should respond in the situation. Are there areas we need to guard our heart and mind from believing and acting on lies?
▫️We would see how many are the Lord’s great and wonderful deeds and thoughts which He has toward us. He is the God who performs extraordinary acts on behalf of His people and His great name.
▫️We would take an opportunity today to declare His greatness, that there is none that compare to Him.
Delight To Do His Will
40:6-8 In sacrifice and offering you have not delighted, but you have given me an open ear. Burnt offering and sin offering you have not required. Then I said, “Behold, I have come; in the scroll of the book it is written of me: I delight to do your will, O my God; your law is within my heart.”
Let’s pray:
▫️We would have open ears to hear the Lord’s word and open eyes to behold His beauty, and we would be satisfied in Him and not in a particular outcome.
▫️We would be obedient to the Lord while we wait for Him, and not just obedient but we would delight to do His will. Is there an area we are being hesitant to obey or obeying begrudgingly? Are we responding to someone from our flesh or from a transformed heart and mind?
▫️Christ would be our example of obedience to the Father’s will, and the Lord would direct our hearts into the love of God and the steadfastness of Christ (2 Thessalonians 3:5).
▫️His law would be in our hearts and He would bring it to our remembrance throughout the length of this trial.
▫️We would find His testimonies to be wonderful, and therefore our souls would keep them (Psalm 119:129).
His Faithfulness
40:9-10 I have told the glad news of deliverance in the great congregation; behold, I have not restrained my lips, as you know, O Lord. I have not hidden your deliverance within my heart; I have spoken of your faithfulness and your salvation; I have not concealed your steadfast love and your faithfulness from the great congregation.
Let’s pray:
▫️We would tell of the Lord’s great salvation provided for us in Christ, our freedom from sin, and our blessedness in Him, without which we could not approach His throne with confidence to present our requests before Him.
▫️We would rest and rejoice in the knowledge that the Lord knows. He knows all the details of our troubles. He knows all our anxious thoughts. He knows the wisest course for our lives. He knows.
▫️We would speak of the Lord’s faithfulness and steadfast love to our own hearts and minds and to anyone else when we speak of this circumstance for which we are waiting on the Lord.
May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
I called on your name, O Lord, from the depths of the pit; you heard my plea, “Do not close your ear to my cry for help!” You came near when I called on you; you said, “Do not fear!”
Lamentations 3:55-57 ESV
Photo credit to threeoverfour.
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