Wait

Have you heard him? Did you know he talks? I believed God answered prayers, but I never really thought about how. I never thought about what an answer might look like. Would it be a visible sign, something I heard, something I felt? In my young years of going to church and CCD I was taught to pray to the Lord, but I was never taught how to listen to him. Honestly, how fun would a conversation be if one person did all the talking and the other person just listened…every time? In fact, many of my mistakes were because I didn’t wait for answers to prayers. Even the Bible says,

Wait for the Lord; be strong and take heart and wait for the Lord. Psalm 27:14

Mom had told me once that a pastor wanted to learn to wait on the Lord; to teach himself to be quiet and listen for our heavenly Father’s voice. This pastor ended up spending quiet time each day for one year before he heard the Lord’s voice. So when I decided I needed to talk less and listen more, I believed I was in it for the long haul. Still, I made my choice. I chose to follow the Lord and wait on him, and I was just stubborn enough to do it!

I made myself a cup of coffee and sat down to my dining room table. I had my Bible, prayer journal, and pen all ready for whatever the Lord might say. I closed my eyes, and spoke the Lord’s prayer (Matthew 6:9-13) and the Serenity prayer to get my mind focused on what I was awake so early for. I opened my eyes to sip my coffee, but then shut them again. Every time I opened my eyes, I got distracted so I kept them shut. A few times I had to remind my brain to just stop. Slowly I recited Psalm 46:10 in my mind. Learning to wait on the Lord definitely took some practice!

Then I saw him. With my eyes closed, I saw Jesus sit down at the table and sip some coffee out of a white paper cup. It looked as though we were in a 1950’s style cafe and the sunlight from the windows was behind him. Still, I could see him clearly. Tears started streaming down my face, but I was not sobbing. I thought, Oh you didn’t make me wait a year! He laughed, and took another sip. I couldn’t help myself. With a smile on my face, and tears running down my cheeks I said,

You are so beautiful! You really are handsome. You truly are a Prince. Thank you for not giving up on me when I wasn’t listening! I can’t live without you.

He looked at me, smiled, took another sip of his coffee, and then he was gone. I tried to bring the image back, but couldn’t. God didn’t lead me to read or pray that morning. He only wanted to see if I’d sit, be quiet and still, and wait for him to make the next move. Today I had victory, but I can only live one day at a time. So today I will praise the Love of my life, and pray for victory tomorrow. Thank you, Jesus, for joining me for coffee!!

Be still, and know that I am God…Psalm 46:10

God, grant me the Serenity
To accept the things I cannot change…
Courage to change the things I can,
And Wisdom to know the difference.

Living one day at a time,
Enjoying one moment at a time,
Accepting hardship as the pathway to peace.
Taking, as He did, this sinful world as it is,
Not as I would have it.
Trusting that He will make all things right
if I surrender to His will.
That I may be reasonably happy in this life,
And supremely happy with Him forever in the next.
Amen.

Reinhold Niebuhr