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Eagle Wings from Refreshing Hope Ministries on Vimeo.

Today I want to talk about the importance of waiting on the Lord, for good things happen when we learn to wait on God. A good example is our grandpuppy River, who sits and watches us eat supper in anticipation of something good happening. She has hope that something special is coming her way, that we are going to move on her behalf, and usually when we are done she gets a reward for waiting patiently.

(Isaiah 40:28–31 NKJV) Have you not known? Have you not heard? The everlasting God, the LORD, The Creator of the ends of the earth, Neither faints nor is weary. His understanding is unsearchable. He gives power to the weak, And to those who have no might He increases strength. Even the youths shall faint and be weary, And the young men shall utterly fall, But those who wait on 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.

Great things come to those who learn to wait on the Lord in hope that something good is coming their way. The word translated as “wait” is:

Strongs Hebrew #6960:  (qal) meaning: “to hope in, to hope for, to wait for, to look for, to tarry, to look forward with confidence to that which is good and beneficial, often with a focus of anticipation in a future event.” (Ps 25:3; 37:9; 69:7; Isa 40:31; 49:23; La 3:25);

This word conveys waiting, tarrying, listening in expectation, in hope of something good happening. Those who do this will have their strength renewed. They shall mount up with wings like eagles and gain the ability to soar into spiritual places others never see. They shall run and not be weary, they shall walk and not faint. Who will do all this? Those who learn to wait patiently on the Lord. We are to live our life in hope and expectation as well, but I want to focus mostly on learning to wait during our prayer time.

“Wait” is a verb which means action. It is not sitting inattentively, but listening, expecting, hoping. For example I came in here this morning to pray, and instead of getting up and leaving when I was done praying, I sat and listened for a while. Then this message came to me in the form of a song, which, Lord willing, I will record later.

Think of it this way: when you are having a heart to heart talk with someone you love, you are not looking at your watch and shifting about in a hurry to leave. You are not daydreaming about something else or texting, at least I hope not. You give the person your full attention and let them take part in the conversation.

We should spend our time with our Heavenly Father with at least that level of attention. We should be engaged, pray heartfelt prayers, and listen for what He has to say expectantly. Maybe open your bible and read a page. Learn to wait a few minutes in the quiet before getting on with your day. You may be surprised at the outcome. Jesus promised us that we would hear His voice:

(John 10:27 NASB)  “My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me;

(John 10:16 NASB)  “I have other sheep, which are not of this fold; I must bring them also, and they will hear My voice; and they will become one flock with one shepherd.

“They” in John 10:16 means us: the gentiles, non-Jewish believers who come into His flock after His resurrection. We are meant to hear His voice, the spoken word of God Almighty. The spoken word of God is called “Rhema.” The Logos is the unchanging, inerrant, creative and inspired word of God in our Bible, the Scriptures. The rhema is spoken living word brought forth by the Holy Spirit to be applied directly to something in our life today, and learning to hear it is forever life changing.

A rhema is a word or illustration that God speaks to us directly. It can come as a verse, an inspiration, a gentle whisper, or like in my case this morning, in a song which expresses the mind of God in musical form. He speaks to us in more ways than I can list here. Consider these verses that depend on people hearing the “Rhema”:

(Matthew 4:4 NASB)  But He answered and said, “It is written, ‘MAN SHALL NOT LIVE ON BREAD ALONE, BUT ON EVERY WORD [Rhema] THAT PROCEEDS OUT OF THE MOUTH OF GOD.’ ”

(Luke 3:2 NASB)  …the word [Rhema] of God came to John, the son of Zacharias, in the wilderness.

(Romans 10:17 NASB)  So faith comes from hearing, and hearing by the word [Rhema] of Christ.

(Ephesians 6:17 NASB)  And take THE HELMET OF SALVATION, and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word [Rhema] of God.

In short, those who do not believe God still speaks to us today have no sword, and they have no faith, for faith comes from hearing the spoken rhema. Who would John the Baptist have been if he had ignored the rhema? No one.

The rhema is a timely, Holy Spirit-inspired Word which will always agree with the written logos, and it brings life, power, faith, and encouragement to complete the task given. The rhema can be received through others through a prophetic word, or it may come to you directly in your meditation time in the Bible or in prayer. There are great promises to those who seek the Lord and wait in hopeful expectation for Him to speak a rhema, or move in their life. Here are just a few that I came across:

(Psalm 27:14 NASB)  Wait for the LORD; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the LORD.

(Psalm 37:34 NASB)  Wait for the LORD and keep His way, And He will exalt you to inherit the land;

(Psalm 40:1 NASB)  I waited patiently for the LORD; And He inclined to me and heard my cry.

(Lamentations 3:25–26 NASB)  The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, To the person who seeks Him. It is good that he waits silently For the salvation of the LORD.

I encourage you to learn to wait on the Lord after you pray and to give Him a chance to speak to you. It is OK if He does not, but the point is that you gave Him the chance. Be like Samuel, “Speak Lord, for I am listening” (1 Samuel 3:10).

Those who wait on 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. The only requirement to obtain all these blessings, is to learn to wait in hopeful expectation.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, I pray that You help me discern when You are speaking to me. Please stir my spirit and help me get in tune with what You are doing. I want to be a part of it. Help me to recognize when Your rhema word comes, and give me the grace to understand how to apply it to my life, in the name of Jesus Christ I pray. Amen!