But as for me, I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior; my God will hear me.  Micah 7:7

Inventor Benjamin Franklin is credited with creating the soothing seat that’s especially popular with mothers and babies. It’s called the rocking chair. The chair rests on curved, usually wooden feet, that allow it to sway gently backward and forward in a calming motion.

Author JoAnn Doyle says that “Prayer is like a rocking chair.” I think this is a great analogy.  You see, the Bible book of Micah tells us that there are two parts to prayer.  Micah wrote, “I watch in hope for the Lord, I wait for God my Savior.” (Micah 7:7) Prayer involves both watching in hope and waiting for God. So, says Doyle, just as “you rock forward, gazing right to left, asking yourself and the Lord, “is this the day of Your answer? You’re watching for His divine provision. When you don’t see the answer coming, you rock back, waiting for His perfect timing.”[1]

If you’ve ever spent time in a rocking chair, you’ll know it’s very calming.  When we watch and wait with Jesus in prayer, we can be refreshed, just as if we were rocking and relaxing.  “As you watch expectantly for His answer,” Doyle suggests, “then rest again, waiting while He works…one day…Jesus will fulfill the desire of your heart in ways that your mind cannot conceive. (1 Corinthians 2:9)”[2]

The waiting is hard.  Focusing on the words of 1 Corinthians 2:9 helps:  No eye has seen, no ear has heard, no heart has imagined, what God has prepared for those who love Him” (1 Corinthians 2:9 BSB).

 

Resource reading: Romans 3:9-31

[1]Doyle, Tom. “Epilogue.” Women Who RISK: Secret Agents for Jesus in the Muslim World, by JoAnn Doyle and Greg Webster, W Publishing Group, an Imprint of Thomas Nelson, 2021, pp. 197–198.

 

[2] Ibid.