TEACH ME LORD TO WAIT
One of my favourite hymns is Hymn 884 from the Praise for the Lord hymnal – “Teach Me Lord To Wait”. This hymn is about our Lord teaching us, His beloved children, to wait upon Him. Although hymns are written by men, God can teach us through hymns as well because He is the sole Authority who can use men to write hymns that strengthen our faith in Him.
What should our attitude be when God teaches? “Teach me Lord”. Our hearts have to be eager to learn, listening well with our ears and being child-like to learn from Him (Matthew 18:1-4).
“To wait”. Waiting can feel difficult because we often want our pleas to be instantly satisfied, for God to be quick in His response, but we must remember that God has a plan and a will for us, and so we must be patient, which is also a part of the Fruit of the Spirit (Galatians 5:22-23).
“Till in Your own good time”. This brings to mind another hymn, “In His Time”. We know that God is omniscient and He knows us better than ourselves, and He knows what is good for us (Isaiah 55:8-9). Let us calmly be still and let Him answer our pleas in His own time. I would like to borrow sis. Melany’s wise words from the combined ladies lesson last September, “Let go and let God”. Yes, let God be the ultimate guide, and know that He will listen to His godly children’s pleas according to His time.
“Teach me not to rely on what others do”. The Scriptures tell us in Psalm 118:8, “It is better to trust in the Lord than to put confidence in man” and also through 1 Corinthians 2:5, we understand that seeking the wisdom from God is far better than seeking after man’s wisdom.
“But to wait in prayer”. Prayer, to the Christian, is just like food, a daily necessity. It is part of our life with God, having the privilege to talk to Him through the blood of Christ, who gives us access to God our Father. I must confess that I am weak in this area as I lack the discipline to consistently pray, but the Christian journey is about constantly learning and growing to be more spiritually mature, that I in turn will be able to confidently share with others the power of prayer that God has given us (1 John 3:22).
One thing that I always find amazing learning from our master teacher Jesus Christ is His humility, unlike other teachers that might teach in pride. Though He is God and above all creation, He still humbled Himself and taught patiently, eventually giving Himself up for us. This humility is echoed in this hymn, reminding us that we should follow His example, and submit in humility to God’s will and wait for His answer, just as Jesus submitted to His will to be crucified.
In conclusion, the most important thing to please Him is to have faith in Him (Hebrews 11:1, 6). Let us have eyes fixed on Him and walk by faith, not by sight (2 Corinthians 5:7), for we are renewed creatures in Christ Jesus (2 Corinthians 5:17).
