What Does It Mean To Wait Before the Lord?

Psalm 62:5-8

Perhaps the greatest key to spiritual growth is spending time alone with the Lord. This means taking the time to speak with God about whatever is on your heart-and, even more importantly, allowing Him to speak to you.

In Psalm 62:5, King David wrote, "My soul, wait silently for God alone, for my expectation is from Him." Perhaps that is why David was known as a man after God's own heart. To win that kind of reputation, David first needed to know the mind and heart of God so that he might be and do what the Lord desired for him. David sought to know God. He frequently "inquired" of the Lord. He spent time in the Lord's presence, singing to the Lord from the depths of his heart. In 2 Samuel 7:18 we read, "King David went in and sat before the Lord; and he said, 'Who I am, O Lord God? And what is my house, that You have brought me this far?'"

What did it mean for David to sit before the Lord? It means that he spent time alone in the presence of the Lord, communicating with the Lord from the deepest part of his soul, asking questions of God, and listening quietly for the Lord's answers.

Jesus frequently sought time apart with His heavenly Father. Time with the Father provided Him with a source of comfort and strength. Jesus also sought time alone with His disciples so that He might teach them and they might find spiritual refreshment (see Luke 9:10).

We are wise if we choose to spend time alone with God, in a place without distractions or interruptions, for a period sufficient for us to relax completely and focus our attention fully upon the Lord and His word. We must be willing to wait in the Lord's presence until we receive God's directives of His words of comfort.

Why don't many of us desire to spend time alone with God? The foremost reason is that we don't feel sure of our relationship with God and, therefore, we feel afraid of God. However, as David admonished, "Trust in Him at all times, you people; pour out your heart before Him; God is a refuge for us." (Ps.62:8).

But those who are born again spiritually have a Father-child relationship with the Lord. Our heavenly Father loves us unconditionally and deals with us tenderly and patiently. The more we learn what He's really like, the more we see Him as Jesus saw Him, the more we will long to spend time alone with Him-and the more we will know the fullness of His grace.