How an Anxious Woman Waits on God

by Clarice M. Ray

As I lay awake hour after hour waiting for the front door to open and close, signaling that one of my teenagers had arrived home safely, I prayed. As I listened to police sirens wailing as they raced to an accident on the busy road near our home, I wondered if my family was safe, and I prayed. When my husband was traveling and flying thousands of miles each week, I prayed. I spent time in prayer for my children to be saved and make wise life decisions. I was concerned about the mates they would choose and from the time they were young I prayed God would prepare a special person just for them. When waiting for medical tests to come back or when waiting for the healing of loved ones and friend, I prayed.

I didn't hear the answers to any of these prayers at the time I was praying. For me it has always been a matter of waiting. I am still waiting, in faith, for the answers to some prayers. God answers on His time schedule, not on mine, but I have found that He always answers!

I would love to tell you that as soon as I finished offering those middle of the night supplications, I was able to fall into a deep blissful sleep. The fact is, I can think of very few times it ever happened that way. It was usually after the door closed, or when we didn't get a phone call from the police or an emergency room nurse. It was after my husband arrived home safely or the tests came back negative that my mind and heart were once again at ease.

I believe if we are honest with ourselves, we will find that it is during those times of concerned praying that we begin to learn who we are in our relationship to Christ Jesus. We learn that sometimes the police do call. We often find our children have minds of their own and don't always make the right choices. We sometimes experience the heart crunching fear that comes when medical tests do come back positive. We begin to wonder, "Where is my Lord, when all these things are happening around me?"

I call these the "Dense Fog Periods" of my life. Times when there are no quick answers. Unable to see one step ahead, there is nothing to go back to, except waiting. For me, waiting is one of the most difficult things I have to deal with in life. I pray about my anxiousness and believe God understands my anxious moments and stands waiting to redeem them.

Scripture confirms that God always hears and answers our prayer. I believe that to be true, so what do I do during these "Dense Fog Periods" of my life? I literally wrap my arms tightly around my Lord and get as close to Him as I can. I wait with Him and I trust Him, for I am in His care and protection. He is my strength and refuge. Isaiah 8:11 says, "The LORD spoke to me with his strong hand upon me." I too, know the Lord has called me by name and my sins have been washed in the blood of the Lamb. When He did that for me, I made a promise to serve Him unconditionally, "no matter what." That means I will serve Him and wait and pray through the "Dense Fog Periods" of my life. Isaiah says, "I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face . . . I will put my trust in him"(8:17).

When you are in a Dense Fog Period and you can't see or hear Him, when it breaks your heart and the pieces of the puzzle don't fit, just wait and pray! Always remember you may lose a battle now and then but you and the Lord together will win the war! I have found it to be true!

Clarice M. Ray is a prayer ministry leader at First Church of the Nazarene in Kent, Washington. She is married with three grown children and six grandchildren.

 

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