I Will Wait for The Lord

Heading from the pews to the altar in front of the church took time. She silently mouthed, “I will wait for the Lord; He will meet with me.” As she slowly limped forward, the cadence of her cane resonated through the air as it steadied her. Her dress was from a different era, maybe the forties, yet still beautiful, ageless, and graceful. After arriving at the altar, she bent over, carefully grabbing the rail. Slowly, she leaned in and placed her cane carefully beside her. Each knee seemed to fight her will to bend. 

Altar of a church

As one of the senior prayer warriors of the church, most of the congregation waited patiently for her to pray. One young man left his pew to hurry up to the altar. He carefully picked up the cane and whispered something into the ear of the praying woman. He stepped back and waited. The kneeling woman visibly relaxed. She continued to pray and then took the communion offered to her. 

She started to rise, and quick as a flash, the boy was beside her. He gave her the cane and helped her to stand. She leaned heavily on him as each knee fought to straighten out again.  The young man stood tall, motionless, and strong. Once she was ready, he gave her the cane. Then, inch by inch, they turned around to return to her place in the pews. 

Although the time of communion was over, no one moved; everyone knew they were watching the love between a boy and his grandmother. More importantly, they were watching the formation of the next generation of prayer warriors.  She stood taller, holding onto his arm. He smiled and kept glancing over to make sure she was walking steadily. He guided her all the way back to her pew and carefully slid in beside her. 

She rested her head on his shoulder and patted his knee. The sacred time at the altar naturally drew these two people closer together. As the congregation sang the closing hymn, he stayed seated beside her to help her find the page. She whispered loudly, “I love to wait for the Lord to meet with me at the altar. Thank you for helping me get there.” His smile lit up the sanctuary. He whispered back, “I know our God hears your prayers.”

God instructed Moses to erect a Tent of Meeting in the midst of the people of Israel so that they would have a place to be in His presence. This Tabernacle had an altar to give sacrifice and receive a word from the Lord.  Today, this Holy Ground is generally at the front of the sanctuary. Many churches have removed the altar rail, and some have replaced the altar with a stage. Others have kept the altar, but have created a litany of rules on who may approach it so that few qualify and even fewer try. 

My study on the Minor Prophets this summer brought me to Micah. One of my favorite verses is found in Micah 7.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord;

I will wait for the God of my salvation;

My God will hear me. Micah 7:7

Micah 7:1 starts with “woe is me,” then continues with the complaint that the righteous have perished and evil abounds. Just when the future seems bleakest, Micah makes some confident statements. He starts with “But as for me.” In one of my previous posts, I shared about the importance of conjunctions in “Conjunctions matter.” https://jenniferwakeauthor.substack.com/p/conjunctions-matter?r=4lv8t0 The term “but” serves as a sharp contrast to the complaint, ushering in the confidence of his beliefs.

 1.  “I will look to the Lord” is actually translated “I will seek the Lord.” Micah may be echoing the words from his youth. Surely he heard Deuteronomy 4:29 many times, “But from there you will seek the Lord your God and you will find Him, if you search after Him with all your heart and with all your soul.” Micah seeks the Lord with confidence.

2.   “I will wait for the God of my salvation,” is another statement Micah can say with confidence. Psalm 25:5 says, “Lead me in Your truth and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You I wait all the day long.” Micah resolves to wait for God to act. He waits in faith, expectancy, and patience.

3.   “My God will hear me.” Micah is a man of prayer and faith. Psalm 66:19 states, “But truly God has listened; He has attended to the voice of my prayer.” He trusts that God will respond and act upon his prayers. From the loud shouts of praise to the quietest whispers of a broken and contrite heart, God hears our prayers.

Micah has a deep, caring, and personal relationship with Yahweh. Micah calls God several names:

·       Lord is Adonai, our Lord and Master. He guides and leads us. 

·       God of my salvation is Elohim Yeshuah. This name literally means God my savior. 

·       “God will hear” is a foundational truth. Yishma’el means God (el) hears (yishma). He outwardly hears and inwardly blesses the person.

Are we like the prayer warrior who waits for the Lord? Are we like the boy who stood behind, helping and supporting, yet knowing God hears our prayers? Or are we like Micah, standing boldly on the foundational truths of who God is? I pray we are all three rolled together, praying, supporting, and standing for the world around us.

What part of Micah 7 challenges you? Please leave a comment.

Let’s Pray:

            Lord, meet with us. As we wait to meet with You, please develop love, patience, and strength in our hearts. Adonai, guide us and lead us. Elohim Yeshuah, You are our savior and creator. Yishma’el, please hear our hearts’ cries for our family, friends, and ourselves.