Wait On The Lord
By Pr Lionel NeoPsalm 62:5-8 ESV
[5] For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him. [6] He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. [7] On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. [8] Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Ever wonder why we call our personal devotional time - quiet time? The practice of quiet time was only popularized in the 1940s. Previously, the most frequent practice of private devotion was when Christians come before God with their prayer requests at the start of the day. But quiet time has the additional element of meditating, and hearing from God's word. Hence the term quiet time - less talking, more listening.
In Psalms 62, in the ESV, King David, begins with this phrase: For God alone my soul waits in silence, which he will repeat once again in verse 5. ‘Wait in silence', just 1 word in Hebrew, is the most literal translation. Who does David wait for in silence? For God alone. Verse 2 and 6 continue this emphasis. He alone, or He only (same word in Hebrew) is my rock and salvation.
Why is King David waiting in silence for God?
We read from verses 2 to 4 that he faces persistent enemies that seek to undermine him. But notice that he is not focused on seeking deliverance from them. Rather, first and foremost, he seeks to find refuge, find rest in God. He says: God is his fortress (verse 6), on God, my salvation and my glory rests (verse 7) and therefore he can trust God at all times, and pour out his heart to God (verse 8)
The root word of the Hebrew word 'wait in silence' is actually to stop speaking. In other words, to shut up.
A Christian monk said this:
Fight for the silence of your mind, for if you do not pay attention, your mind will wander without purpose, without meaning. You will observe everything, you will judge everything, you will think that you are fixing the world and at the same time you will feel contempt for the world without even knowing it. Without realising it, you will learn to ascend to a high throne and from there to measure everyone and everything in your own measure. But silence! It will leave space in your heart for the voice of God to be heard.
Now, l want to lead you through a guided meditation on Psalms 62, verses 5 to 8. There will be several steps to this meditation. This will take around 10 mins, if you go through it slowly. Now let’s begin.
Step 1: Settling Down
First of all, find a place in your home where you can sit comfortably. Now take a few deep breaths to calm yourself down. You may wish to close your eyes while you do this.
Step 2: Tuning In
For the next step, begin to pay careful attention to what's going on around you and inside you. These are voices from within your mind and heart.
They may be triggered from the environment around you, the sound of your children playing, which may bring to mind certain things. Or they may be triggered by a thought within you. Maybe a memory surfaces and it leads to a feeling of regret, fear, anxiety or something else.
Be alert to these inner voices. Do not try to shut them out of your mind and heart. Acknowledge their presence and commit them to God in prayer one at a time.
Should you so wish, you may close off this step with the following prayer:
“O Lord, I come to You just as I am. I commit to You these voices. Still them as Jesus stilled the storm.”
Step 3: Turning to God’s Word
Later, I will proceed to read through read Psalm 62:5-8 slowly, once. You may want to replay it again, or read through this passage on your own from your Bible again. Pause at the parts of the passage that especially speak to you; and do speak with God concerning your thoughts and feelings. Don’t rush things through. I invite you to press in, and come to this posture of rest.
Psalm 62:5-8 ESV
[5] For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him.
[6] He only is my rock and my salvation, my fortress; I shall not be shaken. [7] On God rests my salvation and my glory; my mighty rock, my refuge is God. [8] Trust in him at all times, O people; pour out your heart before him; God is a refuge for us.
Step 4: Re-engaging Life
In your conversation with God for the previous step, God may be spoken to you something, perhaps a promise, a challenge, or a reminder of who He is. I invite you to write it down, or type it down in your journal, and turn to it as a resource and reference for the rest of the day.
Now, end off with this short prayer:
Lord, I will trust in You and wait for Your answer.
Amen