Psalm 33 is a psalm of praise in which the psalmist sings of God’s power and faithfulness. But then something curious occurs at the end of the psalm. It becomes apparent that the psalmist is not singing about something he is experiencing but something that he hopes to experience. He says in verse 20: “We wait in hope for the LORD.” The question that the psalm raises is this: If God is able to do anything, and if God has promised to answer prayer, why do we have to wait for God to do things, often for a very long time? The cliché answer to this question appeals to God’s timing over ours, and this, of course is valid. But there is a deeper issue here. We tend to misconstrue our relationship with God in terms of a series of transactions, in-between which are vacuous periods of waiting. But life should be a continual dynamic process of interacting with God. The ‘things’ that we receive in the process are secondary to the unfolding relationship. The ‘waiting’ that the psalms demonstrate is not passive, it is active. It involves seeking, asking, appealing, remembering, listening, learning etc. The process is all important. The things we receive are secondary to the growth in the relationship of faith. Think about your greatest practical concern right now. That is always the best place to begin your conversation with God. That conversation, however, is not a means to an end (i.e. to get something from God). The conversation is an end-in-itself. What ensues from it is secondary. If it happens to go on a long time, all the better.
Talk to God about what concerns you most at the moment.
Read Psalm 33
