For All Saints

An excerpt from Waiting On God

Let us now, each one forgetting himself, think of the great company of God, and the saints throughout the world who are all waiting on Him. And, let us all join in the fervent prayer for each other: “Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed.”

Just think for a moment of the many waiting ones who need that prayer, how many are sick and weary and alone, and feel as if their prayers are not answered. They sometimes begin to fear that their hope will be put to shame. And then, think of how many servants of God, ministers or missionaries, teachers or workers, of various name, whose hopes in their work have been disappointed, and whose longing for power and blessing remains unsatisfied. And then, too, think of how many who have heard of a life of rest and perfect peace, of abiding light and fellowship, of strength and victory, and who cannot find the path. With all these, it is only that they have not yet learned the secret of full waiting upon God. They just need what we all need, the living assurance that waiting on God can never be in vain. Let us remember, all who are in danger of fainting or being weary, and unite in the cry, “Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed!”

If this intercession for all who wait on God becomes part of our waiting on Him for ourselves, we will help to bear each other’s burdens, and so fulfill the law of Christ.

There will be introduced into our waiting on God that element of unselfishness and love, which is the path to the highest blessing and the fullest communion with God. Love to the brethren and love to God are inseparably linked. In God, the love to His Son and to us are one: “That the love wherewith Thou hast loved Me may be in them.” In Christ, the love of the Father to Him, and His love to us, are one: “As the Father loved Me, so have I loved you.” In us, He asks that His love to us be ours to the brethren. And how can we, day by day, prove and cultivate this love except by praying daily for each other? Christ did not seek to enjoy the Father’s love for Himself; He passed it all on to us. All true seeking of God, and His love for ourselves, will be inseparably linked with the thought and the love of our brethren in prayer for them.

“Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed.” Twice in the psalm David speaks of his waiting on God for himself; here he thinks of all who wait on Him. Let this be the message to all God’s tried and weary ones, that there are more people praying for them than they know about. Let it stir them and us in our waiting to make a point of at times forgetting ourselves, and to enlarge our hearts and say to the Father: “These all wait upon Thee, and Thou givest them their meat in due season.” Let it inspire us all with new courage—for who is there who is not at times ready to faint and be weary? “Let none that wait on Thee be ashamed” is a promise in a prayer. “They that wait on Thee shall not be ashamed!” From many a witness, the cry comes to everyone who needs help—brother, sister, tried one, “Wait on the Lord; be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart; wait, I say, on the Lord. Be of good courage, and He shall strengthen your heart, all ye that wait on the Lord.”

Blessed Father, we humbly beseech You let none who wait on You be ashamed; no, not one. Some are weary, and the time of waiting appears long. And some are feeble and scarcely know how to wait. And some are so entangled in the effort of their prayers and their work, they think that they can find no time to wait continually. Father, teach us all how to wait! Teach us to think of each other, and pray for each other. Teach us to think of You, the God of all waiting ones. Father, let none that wait on You be ashamed! For Jesus’ sake. Amen.

My soul, wait thou only upon God!

Andrew Murray (1828-1917): was an amazingly prolific Christian writer. He lived and ministered as both a pastor and author from the Cape of South Africa.

The earliest of his writings were actually an extension of his pastoral work. He wrote to give daily practical help to many of the people in his congregation who lived out in the farming communities and could only come into town for church service on rare occasions. As he wrote these books of instruction, Andrew Murray adopted the practice of placing many of his more devotional books into thirty-one separate readings to correspond with the days of the month.

At the age of seventy-eight, Murray resigned from the pastorate and devoted most of his time to his manuscripts. He continued to write profusely, moving from one book to the next with an intensity of purpose and a zeal that few men of God have ever equaled. He often said of himself, rather humorously, that he was like a hen about to hatch an egg; he was restless and unhappy until he got the burden of the message off his mind.

During these later years, after hearing of pocket-sized paperbacks, Andrew Murray immediately began to write books to be published in that fashion. He thought it was a splendid way to have the teachings of the Christian life at your fingertips, where they could be carried around and read at any time of the day.

Countless persons the world over have hailed Andrew Murray as their spiritual father and given credit for much of their Christian growth to the influence of his priceless devotional books.