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What Do You Do While You Wait on the Lord?
By Rick Warren

“I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer.” (Habakkuk 2:1 NLT)

After you withdraw to a quiet place to hear from God, you need to wait and calm your thoughts and emotions. You have to settle down!

Habakkuk 2:1 says,“I will wait to see what the LORD says and how he will answer”(NLT). This means stay put and be still until you hear from God.

Why is that important? Because hurry is the death of prayer. The reason why you don’t hear God is that you’re in too much of a hurry. “God, I want to hear from you. But hurry up! I’ve got to make it to my next appointment.”

God speaks to people who take the time to listen. You must want to hear from God, withdraw to a quiet place away from distractions, and then calm yourself and wait.

There are four things you can do while you wait to hear from God.

Relax your body.When your body relaxes, it relaxes your mind. Then you’re more open and able to hear God better. Psalm 46:10 says,“Be still, and know that I am God”(NIV).

Wait quietly.Psalm 62:5 says,“Let all that I am wait quietly before God, for my hope is in him”(NLT). Busyness ramps up the RPMs in your mind. It gets it going. Have you ever gotten your mind going so fast you can’t slow it down? Waiting quietly allows your engine to cool down.

Wait patiently.“Be still in the presence of the LORD, and wait patiently for him to act”(Psalm 37:7). Inner calm creates the intercom to God. In other words, it makes the connection. When you get quiet, you can focus your mind on God and what he wants to say to you.

Wait expectantly.The Bible says in Psalm 130:5,“I wait expectantly, trusting God to help, for he has promised”(TLB). God speaks to people who expect him to speak to them.

God is watching you to see if you’re ready to receive his word. You need to wait quietly and patiently in expectation of his answer.

Talk It Over

What are the distractions that work against you as you try to relax your body and wait patiently?

Is there a specific question that you are waiting on God to answer? How are you waiting expectantly?

What are some physical and mental exercises you can practice to help relax your body?