Lo and behold! Wonderful things happened. I began to discover changes inside of me. I cannot tell you exactly what transpired during these quiet times, but I realized that my worldview, value system, and attitude underwent a subtle change! For one thing, all my doubts and questions went away! My hidden anger and bitterness were gone! My emotional hurt and wounds were healed. No more pain! No more unforgiving! No more struggling! My heart was revived. My spirit was renewed. I was able to forgive and forget, almost as if nothing had happened! My love for Jesus was rekindled! My desire to follow and serve the Lord was restored.
Wow! God did so much for me, I marveled. Jesus is so wonderful! I never expected that investing one hour or more daily in the practice of waiting on God over just short of a two-year period could have produced so much “windfall” profit! Yet, this was only the beginning of what might be called a “new world” experience!
The greatest benefit I have received from years of waiting on the Lord is two-fold: An increasing knowledge of God and a deepening personal relationship with Him. I consider this to be the most important thing and the greatest gain in any Christian’s life.
There is nothing more restful, rewarding and satisfying than to be in the presence of the Almighty God. Remember this: “He who dwells in the secret place of the Most High shall abide under the shadow of the Almighty.” The practice of waiting on God will help us to find out for ourselves what it means to be in the presence of God—“the secret place of the Most High.”
The most wonderful thing about the practice of waiting on God is that you do not have to do anything in your own strength; God will do everything for you in His own powerful way. All you need is a simple child-like faith as you come into the presence of God, and He will teach you everything you need to know about this life and the life to come.
After I started the practice of waiting upon the Lord, I was never the same again. Frankly, I never thought that waiting on God the way the Bible teaches could change a person’s life.
The countless hours I have spent alone with God were the most rewarding and edifying times in my Christian life! The impact of these quiet times with God upon both my life and ministry has been greater than all the external church activities and conferences I have attended combined.
What God has done for me and in me during these years of waiting on the Lord has been far beyond my expectation and comprehension. To this date I am still discovering the things that God has planted or “set” in my soul, the main thing being God’s abiding presence! Oh, the power of waiting on God! Oh, the secret of being in His presence!
If I have learned anything practical about self-denial or dying to the self, it was imparted to me by the Holy Spirit during my long hours of waiting on the Lord and meditating upon the Word of God.
If I have gained any understanding of what it means to walk in the Spirit or live in the presence of God, it was granted to me during these many years of my waiting upon the Lord.
If I have learned anything about living a life of abiding in Christ as every Christian should, the abiding grace was given to me, even without my knowing it, while I waited on the Lord over a protracted period of time.
For the first seventeen years of my Christian life, I knew little or nothing about the paramount importance of knowing and doing the will of God. Since I started the practice of waiting on God, however, I have been made to understand how important it is for God’s people to know and live according to the will of God!
Since I came to know the Holy Spirit as my personal Teacher/Instructor, I stopped running around seeking merely human wisdom and counsel. I found this teaching of Apostle John to be so true: “As for you [meaning Spirit-indwelled, mature Christians], the anointing you received from Him remains in you, and you do not need anyone to teach you. But as His anointing teaches you about all things…remain [or abide] in Him.” (1 John 2:27)
The various things that the Holy Spirit has taught me during my quiet times have actually come from the Lord Jesus who said, “When the Spirit of truth comes, He will guide you into all truth. He will not speak on His own; He will speak only what He hears. He will bring glory to me by taking from what is mine and making it known to you.” (John 16:13-14)
The God who dwells in us by His Spirit also guides and teaches us by His Spirit. After nearly forty years of waiting upon the Lord, I am still learning from the Holy Spirit—whom I cherish as the greatest Teacher of all time—who has much yet to reveal to us.
Once you have entered into “the secret place of the Most High” God who is already in you, and have “tasted and seen that the Lord is good,” you will not exchange it for anything in this world. You will slowly but surely enter in—be ushered into the wonderful presence of God—and be changed into the likene