Waiting on God (by Andrew Murray)

(Amazon UK link)

I don’t think I had heard of Andrew Murray, who was a South African pastor and missionary in the 19th century. But apparently he wrote quite a number of books. One of them, ‘Waiting on God’, was available free for the Kindle when I browsed Amazon a while ago, looking for more special offers.

I started reading it while we were travelling. I quickly realised that it was a 31-day devotional series, each chapter having about three or four Kindle pages of content. So I read one each day, most days, and finished it this morning.

The language, unsurprisingly, is somewhat dated in places, and all Scripture references are to the King James Bible. Apparently the book has been updated, so perhaps the original language was more difficult to understand. In any case, although it felt old-fashioned at times, much of the advice, and the author’s comments are very relevant to Christians today.

The theme of each chapter is a different aspect of waiting on God, using different Scriptural references each day. Each ends, however, with a reminder: ‘My soul, wait thou only on God’. I couldn’t think, at first, how the author could possibly find sufficient content to write thirty-one different chapters, even short ones, on this one topic. But although there’s inevitably some repetition, I felt that it progressed through various principles and ideals, and each day gave me lots to think about.

I don’t know that I’m any better at waiting on God since reading this book; I assume it takes a lifetime - and more - to become even slightly proficient at the kind of thing the author writes about. It’s too easy to get distracted, to rush through one’s days filling them with activity, or trivia. But I hope the principles will remain with me; it’s a book to re-read at regular intervals.

Recommended to Christians who don’t mind old-fashioned language, and who are interested not just in spending more time with God, but in understanding some of the Scriptural principles and references to this topic. It’s not judgemental, nor does it pretend it’s easy. But - so the author contends - it can lead to lasting satisfaction and contentment.

Thought-provoking and encouraging. Not always available free for the Kindle, but usually quite inexpensive. Also available in paperback, and the Amazon link given is to an edition currently in print.

Review copyright 2018 Sue's Book Reviews