Wait a Minute!

Do you not know? Have you not heard? The Lord is the everlasting God,     the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary, and his understanding no one can fathom.  He gives strength to the weary and increases the power of the weak.  Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall; but those who hope in the Lord will renew their strength.  They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.  Isaiah 40:28-31 NIV

Hope – When David wrote “Wait for God” in Psalm 42, he used the Hebrew verb yāḥal.  Some translators render this “hope” because the verb covers both meanings.  There is another verb with the same umbrella—qāwâ, found in this verse in Isaiah.  In one of its roots, it also can be rendered “wait,” “hope,” or “look for.”  Hartley’s comments are important:

This root means to wait or to look for with eager expectation. It is used for the wicked who make an attempt to destroy the life of the righteous (Ps 56:6 [H 7]; 119:95). Waiting with steadfast endurance is a great expression of faith. It means enduring patiently in confident hope that God will decisively act for the salvation of his people (Gen 49:18). Waiting involves the very essence of a person’s being, his soul (nepeš; Ps 130:5). Those who wait in true faith are renewed in strength so that they can continue to serve the Lord while looking for his saving work (Isa 40:31). There will come a time when all that God has promised will be realized and fulfilled (Isa 49:23; Ps 37:9). In the meantime the believer survives by means of his integrity and uprightness as he trusts in God’s grace and power (Ps 25:21). His faith is strengthened through his testings, and his character is further developed (Ps 27:14). Israel is encouraged to hold fast to love and justice, i.e. they are to follow the law faithfully and maintain consistently the standards of justice, at the same time preserving an attitude of godly love (Hos 12:6 [H 7]; cf. Ps 37:34; Job 4:6).

During times of visitation and judgment, the righteous must exercise great faith (Isa 26:8; Lam 3:19–33). Thus Isa confidently asserts, “I will wait for the Lord, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him” (Isa 8:17). When God arrives on the scene with redemptive power, the response of those who have waited will be jubilant joy and great singing (Isa 25:9).^[1]

If we want to understand the workings of prayer in the Hebrew worldview, both yāḥal and qāwâ will need to be high on the vocabulary list.  Why?  Because prayer is patience personified.

When I pray I often imagine I should immediately receive a reply.  Well, maybe not instantly.  That might be a bit presumptuous.  But at least within a reasonable length of time (by whose standard?).  After all, I can’t wait too long or I’ll feel as if God either didn’t hear me or doesn’t care.  Both, by the way, are illogical.  God doesn’t ask me what time it is.  In the Hebrew worldview, God listens—always—but faithfulness isn’t demonstrated by temporal insistence.  Faithfulness is a long-run commitment.  And it’s a very good thing that it is.  Imagine if God had the same patience with us as we sometimes have with Him.

David’s attitude in prayer is the same as Isaiah’s.  yāḥal and qāwâ cooperate.  I must learn to wait (hope).  Praying is my personal instruction in divine delay.

Topical Index: yāḥal, qāwâ, wait, hope, Isaiah 40:28-31

^[1] Hartley, J. E. (1999). 1994 קָוָה. R. L. Harris, G. L. Archer Jr., & B. K. Waltke (Eds.), Theological Wordbook of the Old Testament (electronic ed., p. 791). Chicago: Moody Press.