Friday Five - Wait and Pray

Sally at RevGalBlogPals puts forth for consideration:

Part of the Ascension Day Scripture from Acts 11 contains this promise from Jesus;"But you will receive power when the Holy Spirit has come upon you; and you will be my witnesses in Jerusalem, in all Judea and Samaria, and to the ends of the earth.” Then he was taken from their sight into the clouds, two angels appeared and instructed the probably bewildered disciples to go back to Jerusalem, where they began to wait and to pray for the gift Jesus had promised. Prayer is a joy to some of us, and a chore to others, waiting likewise can be filled with anticipation or anxiety....

So how do you wait and pray?

1. How do you pray best, alone or with others?
My journal is a prayer journal - most of the time, so I guess you can say I pray best alone. While I was in CPE, I did gain skill (yes there is skill involved) and understanding of praying with the sick and hurting.

2. Do you enjoy the discipline of waiting, is it a time of anticipation or anxiety?
For most of my life I was terrible at waiting. I often jump into decisions too quickly. My husband is very slow at making decisions. Sometimes we have to agree when we will decide something. I can't jump the gun and he has to cut his research off at that point.

That being said, I spent over a year waiting to hear where I would be appointed. There were many false starts and disappointments. In the end, it was all for the best, including the waiting and all that went on during that time.

Now I feel I have this call to use my gifts with our missionaries in Vietnam, but I'm not in a hurr;y. I feel like God will open the doors when and where they need to be opened. It's not that I'm afraid of moving forward, it's that I just know I need to wait and see how God unfolds this rather than making things happen.

3. Is there a time when you have waited upon God for a specific promise?
Well you could say waiting for an appointment, but there have been others. As we struggled with infertility and finally began steps toward adoption, I became content to wait for whatever God had planned for our family. When I finally voiced this "peace with the plan," I didn't have to wait long - about 72 hours before our precious manBoy was in our arms.

4. Do you prefer stillness or action?
At first I was going to say action, but really I enjoy both in their own time. I am an X on the introvert/extrovert scale. Really, I'm a reflective extrovert. I truly appreciate time to "be still," but I thrive on the thrill of completion as the result of action.

5. If ( and this is slightly tongue in cheek) you were promised one gift spiritual or otherwise what would you choose to recieve?
Gentleness, which is really a fruit rather than a gift.

My own bonus: It is possible that my wait for ordination may have been shortened by one year. The petition was passed at General Conference. What remains to be seen is whether it will affect those of us already in the probationary (now provisional) period. I guess I will need to practice patience waiting to see if it changes my progress, and trust in God that it will happen at the right time.