WEBVTT 00:00:00.000 --> 00:00:12.660 I don't know about you but I hate waiting, I hate having to queue, I hate traffic jams, I hate being put on hold if I'm phoning a call centre or something. 00:00:12.660 --> 00:00:17.620 And I really hate that music that's supposed to make me not mind about having to wait. 00:00:18.740 --> 00:00:23.660 I hate the sense of not knowing the outcome of worrying situations. 00:00:25.440 --> 00:00:29.719 To be honest I hate any awkward stuff being left unresolved. 00:00:30.000 --> 00:00:36.500 I don't suppose people have ever particularly enjoyed waiting. 00:00:36.500 --> 00:00:44.000 My guess is that our own digital generation has become the worst at doing it. 00:00:44.000 --> 00:00:49.000 Basically because we now expect everything to be instant. 00:00:49.000 --> 00:00:55.000 Our online culture has shaped us into a mindset of having everything on demand. 00:00:55.000 --> 00:00:58.000 We've lost the art of waiting. 00:00:58.000 --> 00:01:02.000 Not just waiting but waiting creatively. 00:01:02.000 --> 00:01:17.500 Yeah okay I know that's a bit of a weird term perhaps but I think that creative waiting is probably an important dynamic when it comes to understanding what Jesus was saying about praying. 00:01:17.500 --> 00:01:21.500 So he said knock and the door will be opened. 00:01:21.500 --> 00:01:24.000 Now there's three things going on there. 00:01:24.000 --> 00:01:28.000 First there's the knocking. 00:01:28.000 --> 00:01:30.000 And then there's the opening. 00:01:30.000 --> 00:01:36.000 But in between those two there's the waiting. 00:01:36.000 --> 00:01:40.000 And that's the hard bit. 00:01:40.000 --> 00:01:44.000 And I think we need to understand it properly. 00:01:44.000 --> 00:01:46.500 Because when we think about waiting. 00:01:46.500 --> 00:01:50.500 I guess we probably naturally think it means doing nothing. 00:01:50.500 --> 00:01:54.500 Just passively hanging around while nothing much happens. 00:01:54.500 --> 00:01:59.500 That's not the sort of waiting that goes with prayer. 00:01:59.500 --> 00:02:03.500 Waiting in prayer is not passive. 00:02:03.500 --> 00:02:06.500 It's active and it's creative. 00:02:06.500 --> 00:02:10.500 The prophet Isaiah wrote. 00:02:10.500 --> 00:02:15.500 But those who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength. 00:02:15.500 --> 00:02:19.500 They shall mount up with wings like eagles. 00:02:19.500 --> 00:02:24.500 Now what can an eagle show us? 00:02:24.500 --> 00:02:31.500 How might it help us to understand what it means to wait creatively on God in prayer? 00:02:31.500 --> 00:02:34.500 I don't really know much about ornithology. 00:02:34.500 --> 00:02:39.500 But apparently eagles can often be seen flying around mountains. 00:02:39.500 --> 00:02:42.500 Because that's where they get the best air currents. 00:02:42.500 --> 00:02:48.500 The upward shape of the ground helps to produce strong upward drafts of air. 00:02:48.500 --> 00:02:56.500 And once an eagle catches one of those, it can ride up and over the mountain. 00:02:56.500 --> 00:02:58.500 Now think about that. 00:02:58.500 --> 00:03:07.500 The very obstacle the eagle wants to get past can actually play a part in finding the power to rise above it. 00:03:09.500 --> 00:03:13.500 Our circumstances, including our difficulties, 00:03:13.500 --> 00:03:20.500 can produce the updraft for our thoughts to set our minds on things above. 00:03:20.500 --> 00:03:23.500 Now Paul talks about this in Colossians when he says, 00:03:23.500 --> 00:03:29.500 set your minds on things above, not on earthly things. 00:03:29.500 --> 00:03:38.500 So in practical terms then, to actively wait on God involves filling your mind with the truth about God's character, 00:03:38.500 --> 00:03:42.500 especially as it pertains to your particular situation. 00:03:42.500 --> 00:03:51.500 Now it may take a bit of practice to deliberately set your mind on anything except your problems. 00:03:51.500 --> 00:03:58.500 But in your waiting, between the knocking and the opening, 00:03:58.500 --> 00:04:05.500 you can use your worry to generate reminders to set your mind on things above. 00:04:05.500 --> 00:04:07.500 Why not give it a go? 00:04:07.500 --> 00:04:11.500 So if you're waiting with a sense of worry over health, 00:04:11.500 --> 00:04:16.500 each time you get that nervous feeling about the situation, 00:04:16.500 --> 00:04:23.500 allow it to prompt you towards thinking about the scriptures and stories that describe God as a healer, 00:04:23.500 --> 00:04:29.500 as the One who created your body and who promises resurrection. 00:04:29.500 --> 00:04:34.259 or if you're waiting and worrying over making ends meet, 00:04:35.500 --> 00:04:40.579 immerse yourself in the truth that God promises to take care of his children, 00:04:40.579 --> 00:04:46.579 or if you're waiting on direction for your life or for a specific situation, 00:04:48.680 --> 00:04:51.699 dwell on the fact that God has promised to guide us. 00:04:52.779 --> 00:04:53.680 You get the picture. 00:04:53.680 --> 00:05:02.480 Jesus says that in praying, in bringing our needs to God, we are to knock. 00:05:03.759 --> 00:05:12.060 That is, we're not to just sit back, but to commune with God actively and expectantly, 00:05:12.259 --> 00:05:17.939 and indeed persistently, to seek and to go on seeking, persevering in prayer. 00:05:17.939 --> 00:05:27.100 Remember that a river cuts through rock, not because of one blast of power, but because of its persistence. 00:05:29.240 --> 00:05:33.220 And it's in the waiting that God can and does move. 00:05:33.220 --> 00:05:39.360 We're not called to actually open the doors ourselves, mind. 00:05:39.900 --> 00:05:41.040 It's God who does that. 00:05:43.680 --> 00:05:44.860 And one last thought. 00:05:45.980 --> 00:05:51.260 When you're on this side of the door, you can't see what's on the other side of it. 00:05:51.259 --> 00:05:56.899 But the one who promises to do the opening can. 00:06:00.899 --> 00:06:04.939 And who knows what surprises he has in store.