Scripture Passage
Worship Video
Worship Audio
Sermon Script
We recently reflected on the spirituality of prayer.
Do you still remember the four aspects of prayer? Let go; Be honest; Rely on the Holy Spirit; and Wait in hope.
They sound straightforward, but they aren’t easy.
Instead of letting go, we would rather be in control. Instead of being honest, we would rather put on a front. Instead of relying on the Spirit, we would rather rely on ourselves. Even something so basic like prayer can be quite challenging.
But I think the last step – waiting – is the most difficult.
The purpose of waiting is so that God can act. We wait because we believe that God will ultimately work all things together for good. Waiting is an act of trust and anticipation.
That was why St. Paul also said in Romans:
Rejoice in hope; be patient in affliction; persevere in prayer. (Romans 12:12)
But what happens when our waiting grows longer and longer? When nothing changes in our circumstances? When we see no answer to our prayers? When God seems silent and hidden from us?
The longer our problems go on, the harder it is to wait. We grow tired. We get discouraged. We feel hopeless. We wonder: “How much longer, God?” We think about either giving up or taking control of our life again.
The psalmist went through a difficult time in his life. He felt abandoned and alone. People were against him. He couldn’t make sense of what was happening.
We hear that in his prayer to God:
For you are the God in whom I take refuge;
why have you cast me off?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because of the oppression of the enemy? (Psalm 43:2)
They are sincere and honest words. You don’t see any pretense. He voices his frustration, disappointment, and loneliness.
The psalmist even tries leaving it all to God. Right after crying out to God, this was what he prayed:
O send out your light and your truth;
let them lead me;
let them bring me to your holy hill
and to your dwelling.
Then I will go to the altar of God,
to God my exceeding joy,
and I will praise you with the harp,
O God, my God. (Psalm 43:3, 4)
That was it. There was nothing else he could do. The only thing he could do was wait.
But for the psalmist, this wasn’t the first time he experienced this. The situation had been going on for some time.
Psalm 43 is not a standalone psalm. It is often considered as a single poem with Psalm 42. I encourage you to read the two psalms together on your own time.
In Psalm 42, the psalmist offers similar prayers as he does here:
My soul thirsts for God,
for the living God.
When shall I come and behold
the face of God? (Psalm 42:2)
I say to God, my rock,
“Why have you forgotten me?
Why must I walk about mournfully
because the enemy oppresses me?” (Psalm 42:9)
The psalmist had been praying and waiting for a long time.
Throughout the two psalms, he goes through many ups and downs. He gets discouraged one moment and determined the next. He feels desperate one moment and hopeful the next. Just like how turbulent we are in times of trouble.
Yet, even when his situation doesn’t change, he doesn’t give up. He continues to wait.
How?
In between his laments to God, the psalmist repeats these words. They appear not only in today’s psalm, but twice in the previous psalm as well:
Why are you cast down, O my soul,
and why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall again praise him,
my help and my God. (Psalm 42:5-6, 11; 43:5)
The psalmist addresses himself directly. He speaks to the innermost part of himself.
“Are you alright?” He sounds like someone checking on their friend. “How come you’re so down?”
Then he speaks a word of encouragement. “Don’t give up – you will be okay.” Like a gentle pat on the back that strengthens our spirit. It reminds him that God is still with him.
Hearing this may be both strange and new for us. It goes against our understanding of prayer.
We tend to think of prayer as being directed only to God. Yet the psalmist shatters that notion completely.
He shows us that tending to ourselves is also part of prayer life. It is just as important as crying out to God. We need that.
In our daily life, we do so many things to care for our bodies. We exercise. We eat healthy. We take our vitamins and medicine. We read. We try to get enough sleep.
But we often forget to look after our own souls. We don’t know what’s really going on with ourselves. We are blind to our own spiritual condition.
We may do all the right things and look fine on the surface. But if our soul is down, then we won’t be well. We will be joyless. We will be dark and empty. We will wither inside, quietly.
In that sense, we have a responsibility toward our own souls. We need the space to be honest and vulnerable with ourselves. We need to care for ourselves. That is where the spirituality of prayer comes in.
You may have let go and offered all that’s on your heart to God. But you may still be going through a season of waiting. You may feel tired, down, or on the verge of giving up.
If you are discouraged and don’t know what to do, talk to yourself. It may feel weird at first but try it.
“How are you doing?”
Gently tend to your soul. Don’t pretend to yourself that you are fine. We shouldn’t rationalize or cover up what we see.
It is okay not to be okay. Recognize and acknowledge how you are.
But don’t stop there. Remind yourself to hope in God. Tell yourself what you have forgotten. “Don’t give up. Keep going.”
It’s not over yet. God will soon bring you out of your darkness. Remember the promise of resurrection that you have. Death and despair do not have the final say in Christ.
Because of prayer, we can wait patiently. I realize that there is no such thing as waiting without prayer.
Praying doesn’t stop when we wait. We pray even while we wait. We could say that waiting is praying. It is an act of faith.
When our life is prayerful, we will remain hopeful even when things are uncertain. We will be patient even in times of frustration and difficulties. We won’t give up even when we have every reason to do so. We will rejoice in hope, be patient in affliction, and persevere in prayer to the end.
My friends, our waiting will not be in vain. The psalmist himself felt like his life was going in circles. But Psalm 43 ends with the affirmation of his hope in God. He doesn’t go back to being discouraged like before.
I believe God eventually came to his rescue. Salvation comes to those who wait.
This was what Isaiah said:
But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint. (Isaiah 40:31)
Hope in God. God will send his light and his truth to guide you. You will praise his name with the joy of salvation.
Leave a Reply