THE SCENARIO: Hiereus just graduated from Bible College and would like to know Jehovah God’s will for them in their ministry. Hiereus has, for some time, even before graduation, beseeched God with much prayer and fasting to lead them to the ministry that He has ordained for them. And now they are watching and waiting for God’s direction.
In the outworking of this scenario please consider the following:
1. Hiereus has done well by prayerfully beseeching God’s guidance regarding their ministerial service for Him. Hiereus has a passion for mission work and has been looking in that direction for indications that God might be leading them to some specific mission service. You see, God has blessed Hiereus with an unusual knack for linguistics—Hiereus has been able to soak up biblical Greek and Hebrew like a sponge. Their passion is to do Bible translation work in out of the way places for God. While they are waiting for God, Hiereus has been tutoring biblical linguistics at the Bible College they attended. It might just be possible that God has them on hold so to speak because He needs Hiereus to mature in some non-academic ways so their ministry is more effective. Please discuss how God utilized tangential (but related) activities to sharpen you for that which you were waiting for from God. Has this seemingly tangential activity ever become your main thrust after all was said and done?
2 This point is related to point 1 just above. Please choose any three of the following verses and discuss them with respect to God hearing prayer: Isa 30:19, Jer 29:12, Psa 22:24, 91:15, Mat 7:7-8, 21:22, 1Jo 5:14-15
3. How does one know that “this is it,” this is God’s will for me in regard to one’s prayer request/s (please support your answer Scripturally). Please consider here also these verses: Isa 30:21, Psa 32:8, 37:23, 48:14, Pro 11:5, 16:9.
4. Consider a farmer; a farmer knows that what they plant they will eventually harvest; this is a surety. They cannot hurry the crop in any way, it will be ready in its own time. A farmer can be patient in waiting for that harvest because barring unforeseen factors, what they planted they shall eventually reap. Try to discover this same sort of surety in these verses: Num 23:19, Psa 9:10, 145:16, Jam 5:7-8.
5. Worry works against patient waiting for God. But God has given us plenty of reasons why we can confidently and thus patiently wait for Him without worry. Please consider the following verses and point out the reason/s God is giving to assure us we need never worry about matters placed into His hands: Psa 46:1-3, Jer 17:7-8, Luk 10:41-42, Phl 4:6-7, 4:19.
6. What does biblical anticipatory watching and anticipatory waiting mean to you? Can you cite three biblical precedents in that regard? Look for precedents where there was a need/prayer request, how the biblical figure/s petitioned God about it, how they waited for Him (their activity while they waited, their faith throughout, etc.), how the matter/s came to conclusion, how long it took for God to act, and any lessons to be learned for the good of the Christian Church and individual. Try to perceive why God “delayed” acting in the precedent/s you cite if applicable.
7. Dear Christian friend, patiently waiting for God is a difficult challenge for us personally, maybe for you too. May God instill in us the confident patience to wait for Him in matters we place in His capable hands. Help us all to better wait for you great savior God.