Friday, May 02, 2008

Friday Five: Wait and Pray

Sally of RevGalBlogPals writes:

Part of the Ascension Day Scripture from Acts 11 contains this promise from Jesus;

"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.”

Then he was taken from their sight into the clouds, two angels appeared and instructed the probably bewildered disciples to go back to Jerusalem, where they began to wait and to pray for the gift Jesus had promised."

Prayer is a joy to some of us, and a chore to others, waiting likewise can be filled with anticipation or anxiety....

So how do you wait and pray?

1. How do you pray best, alone or with others?

Without a doubt... I need others praying with me. But much of the "waiting" is done alone. There is a sense of comfort, though, knowing that I have shared my heart and others are listening.

2. Do you enjoy the discipline of waiting, is it a time of anticipation or anxiety?

You've GOT to be kidding! That's like saying, "you can't wait to have a root canal, right?" Uh, no. I hate waiting. I hate not knowing. I hate that period of what seems to be silence from God. I don't know like not knowing if it is a "no" answer or a "not yet"... when on the waiting side of a situation, they both look like a "no."

3. Is there a time when you have waited upon God for a specific promise?
Oh. I am definitely in one now. The tension of "the now and the not yet" of a place to be in ministry. The prophetic knowledge that God has something in mind for me... and not knowing what it is.

What comes to mind and helps me in this waiting zone is to remember the principle of the "fallow fields". When I was in France last November on a mission trip, I took this picture of a vineyard which looked like a bunch of dead sticks tried to the trellises. I was a symbol to me of the place of rest and fallowness in between periods of blossoming, fruit-bearing and harvest. We forget that in the cycle of ministry, of life, there is this "fallowness" -- and when you are there, it just ain't easy. Because you FEEL like sticks tied to a trellis, not a vine deeply rooted and preparing to yield fruit.

4. Do you prefer stillness or action?

Therein lies the problem of "waiting and praying" for me... I like ACTION, baby! And a lot of the wrestling I have been through over the past few months has been because I have had to WAIT. Ugh.

5. If ( and this is slightly tongue in cheek) you were promised one gift spiritual or otherwise what would you choose to receive?

Oh no. You're not getting me on that one. I am NOT going to pray for patience. Every time I do, I get handed a shipload of situations to practice it!! Truthfully, the desire of my heart is to be wise. And you only get that by experiencing life... sigh... so there's no short cut but listening, learning, watching, praying... failing... and trying again.

Blessings to all as we wait!

Deb

10 comments:

Unknown said...

Thanks for the reminder of what it means to lie fallow.

Di said...

"Because you FEEL like sticks tied to a trellis, not a vine deeply rooted and preparing to yield fruit."

Thank you. I needed that.

Teri said...

I think, based on that vineyard analogy, that wisdom is something you already have. Thank you for that.

Sally said...

lol- nearly got you, I said I want patience, not that I am willing to wait and pray for it- far to dangerous...

RevDrKate said...

WOW, that preached, Deb, great play, great answers. Thanks. Needed to hear that part about fallowness and what it isn't as much as what it is.

Anna Sorenson said...

The vineyard imagery was needed. Thank you. I find myself in a time of waiting to bear fruit. Reminding myself that the roots are still there, the plant is still living. It was a word of grace to me today.

Diane M. Roth said...

I like your imagery.

Nobody likes to wait, do they?

Jeanine Byers said...

"Oh. I am definitely in one now. The tension of "the now and the not yet" of a place to be in ministry. The prophetic knowledge that God has something in mind for me... and not knowing what it is."

Blessings as you wait!

Dorcas (aka SingingOwl) said...

People who LIKE to wait are seriously mixed up! I like the new blog look. :-)

Word verification was..I kid you not...

owlsng

!!!

revhipchick said...

wonderful play! i've now read a few other #5's with responses almost identical to yours and now i'm worried about what i'll be getting! eek!

it's been a long time since i've been by since now i can send you coffee on facebook and poke you! i LOVE your piano keys at the top of your page--awesome!

great play!