pray and wait

Someone showed me this quote. I think this goes along with prayer, that we pray and wait expectantly. The waiting for an answer is just as important as how the Lord answers. How do you wait on the Lord? Such as a missionary preparing himself for the mission field and if he dies soon after like Jim Elliot, was it a waste? The process of it was still what God desired. More and more difficulties are welcomed because God will shape us in ways we never thought would happen, and somehow our prayers are answered.

"But waiting on God isn't like this at all. Waiting on God isn't about the suspension of meaning and purpose. It's part of the meaning and purpose that God has brought into my life. Waiting on God isn't to be viewed as an obstruction in the way of the plan. Waiting is an essential part of the plan. For the child of God, waiting isn't simply about what I'll receive at the end of my wait. No, waiting is much more purposeful, efficient, and practical than that. Waiting is fundamentally about what I'll become as I wait. God is using the wait to do in and through me exactly what he's promised. Through the wait he's changing me. By means of the wait he's altering the fabric of my thoughts and desires. Through the wait he's causing me to see and experience new things about him and his kingdom. And all of this sharpens me, enabling me to be a more useful tool in his redemptive hands." -Paul Tripp

heart of a praying life

"Learned desperation is at the heart of a praying life."

- Paul Miller, A Praying Life