While our country, Ethiopia, is in the middle of war, how do we, Ethiopian Christians, wait on God to answer our prayers?
(I hope you won’t ask me what our prayers are. But in case you ask, we pray for peace! What else! And we pray for the safe return of our military men and women, our beloved prime minister, Dr. Abiy Ahmed Ali, and other well-known personalities, such as Haile Gebrselassie who “won two Olympic gold medals over 10,000 meters and four World Championship titles in the event,” and other Ethiopian officials who have joined the Ethiopian National Defense Force to save Ethiopia and Ethiopians.)
I think the following seven points help us to wait on God in ways appropriate for us Christian according to the word of God:
- We wait in prayer!
Yes, we pray as the Bible commands us, “pray without ceasing.” (1 Thessalonians 5:17). And as we pray, we declare and proclaim our faith to this dark world on three main basic truths of God:
- “Salvation belongs to the LORD” (Psalm 3:8)! No one can save but God!
- Victory belongs to the LORD – “The horse is prepared for the day of battle, But victory belongs to the Lord.” Proverbs 21:31 NASB – Yes, victory belongs to the LORD and the LORD gives victory to whoever He wants to. Victory does not depend on military equipment or intelligence or competency.
- Power belongs to the LORD – “Once God has spoken; Twice I have heard this: That power belongs to God;” Psalm 62:11 NASB
We should always remind ourselves these basic truths of God. Not only now but always! Our soul needs to be reminded of this face when it is engulfed with fear and hopelessness.
- We wait hoping to see good days!
I mean, who pray without hope? No one! We pray to hoping to see good days but the Bible says this to the one who wants to see good days:
“Who is the man who desires life
And loves length of days that he may see good?
Keep your tongue from evil
And your lips from speaking deceit.
Depart from evil and do good;
Seek peace and pursue it.
The eyes of the Lord are toward the righteous
And His ears are open to their cry.
The face of the Lord is against evildoers,
To cut off the memory of them from the earth.
The righteous cry, and the Lord hears
And delivers them out of all their troubles.
The Lord is near to the brokenhearted
And saves those who are crushed in spirit.
Many are the afflictions of the righteous,
But the Lord delivers him out of them all.” Psalm 34:12-19 NASB
Amen!
It is a very challenging and trying period in many ways. What we see and hear specially on social media may tempt us to lose our cool. But we have to be very conscious and intentional in what we think and say so we see the good days we pray for.
- We wait being yoked with Christ
What do we all do when we feel miserable, hopeless and mad and upset? We go around and try to make others miserable, hopeless so we feel comforted by seeing others feel like us. That is why they say, “Misery loves company!” So, we need to always remember this specially at this time whenever we are on social media. We shouldn’t let miserable people make us miserable. How? By making sure that we are yoked with Christ and other likeminded people.
Jesus said, “Come to Me, all who are weary and heavy-laden, and I will give you rest. Take My yoke upon you and learn from Me, for I am gentle and humble in heart, and you will find rest for your souls. For My yoke is easy and My burden is light.” Matthew 11:28-30
- We wait holding on to our God-given joy
Why? Because the joy of the LORD is our strength (Nehemiah 8:10). When we lose our joy in the LORD, we become miserable and cannot pray. All we do is we go around and try our best to make others miserable.
Remember, the Kingdom of God is a matter “of righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit,” (Romans 14:17) – If we lose our peace and joy, the only place we need to go is into our war-room, to pray and ask God to forgive us. We are strong only when we are filled in the joy of the LORD.
- We wait acting
We pray and we give!
Remember, our people are going through all kinds of sufferings. Those of us who live outside Ethiopia, the least we can do is not only prayer but also giving. Please my friends, all Ethiopians and friends of Ethiopia, continue donating here: https://eyezonethiopia.com.
- We wait getting involved!
If there is a petition to fill out, let’s fill it out. When there is a march to make our voice being heard, let’s go out and march. And for those of us who reside here in the US, let’s get involved in the coming congress member election. Let’s first know the candidate and the policies he/she stands on. Then let’s support the candidate and cast our vote to him/her. Those are the congress members who may help us, Ethiopians, when we face difficult times like the one we are facing right now.
- Last but not least, we wait opening our eyes and ears!
It is not Christianity to say, “I am a Christian! My job is to pray, not to get involved in politics or care about politics.” My friend, if that is what you believe, let me tell you something. That is the kind of thing they preached to you from their own bible (they who want to destroy Ethiopia and Ethiopians). The word of God, the Bible, does not teach us like that. We need to know about our home country and the country we live in. We literally need to open our eyes and ears so even our prayers will be focused and specific. It is not Christianity to be clueless about what is going on around us! It is not politics to care, love and support our people, Ethiopians, and our mother land, Ethiopia. It is being a human being. And if a person is not a human being, he/she cannot care about anybody else but him/herself. ///