Psa 40:1 I waited patiently for the LORD; he turned to me and heard my cry. (NIV)
David comprehended a secret he applied in his life, the secret of persistently waiting in rest for the Lord especially in the times of distress. He was anointed to be the next king. It took many years before he was on the throne. As my friend Pastor Phil Sessa beautiful puts it, he was a king without a kingdom. How many times did he come close to killing Saul but would not? It was because he trusted God’s timing rather than his. I am convinced that those encounters were trials to see if he would get ahead of God or not.
Let’s break it down, “I waited”, this deals with time, His timing and not mine, “He has made everything beautiful in its time” (Ecc 3:11). Learn God’s time, that is patience without frustrations. He has divinely implanted a sense of a purpose working through the ages which nothing under the sun but God alone can satisfy.
“…Patiently” deals with the process. You are not ready to progress with God without patience as part of God’s process in your life. Faith and patience go hand in hand, faith is awaiting God’s timing without doubting His love and ability. That’ is what patience is all about.
“…For the Lord”, the reason behind the waiting. David discovered that everything he had desired of the Lord depended on waiting patiently for the Lord to come through for him, and because he mastered it, God turned and heard his cry in prayers.