Hab 2:1-2, ESV, “I will take my stand at my watchpost and station myself on the tower, and look out (watch, KJV) to see what he will say to me, and what I will answer concerning my complaint. 2 And the LORD answered me: "Write the vision; make it plain on tablets, so he may run who reads it."”
The prophet Habakkuk had been complaining to the Lord about the sins of his people; so, the Lord finally revealed to him, how He intended to punish them. He was going to use the Chaldeans, a people widely known for their oppression, cruelty and arrogance. The prophet panicked and feeling that the punishment was disproportionate, he begged the Lord not to avenge Himself in such a way. That's what’s referred to in the above passage, which highlights five key things which must follow a prayer:
Taking a stand at one’s watchpost
Habakkuk was at his. Have you taken your stand? What is your watchpost? Where does God expect to see you? Where can you observe what God will do from? It is a physical and also a spiritual position; and it is specific to each of us: we all do not have the same post. However, the Lord will meet us at our watchpost... Are you at your post?
Stationing (or setting) oneself upon the tower
From his watchpost, Habakkuk went to the tower. It was the highest point of a city (or a castle); this is where the sentries used to scan the horizon to spot any sign of danger and notify the people in time. I like the French version which says that Habakkuk stood on the tower; i.e. he was not sitting but was standing to have the best panoramic view. Tower + standing = the highest position possible: this alludes to spiritual heights and God’s presence. A position that is only attainable if you are spiritually clean. Indeed, “O LORD, who shall sojourn in your tent? Who shall dwell on your holy hill? He who walks blamelessly and does what is right and speaks truth in his heart…” (Ps 15:1-2) Have you set yourself on the tower? Are you standing?
Watching to see
The sentinel who stopped watching could not see the impending danger and consequently, all the people could perish. This is to say that even when we have finished talking, we should not come down of the mountain of prayer; but we should continue to scan the horizon to see the arrival of the sign that reveals what God has to say. Indeed, don’t you find it strange that Habakkuk was watching to see what God would say? We normally hear what is said and see what is shown; but Habakkuk saw what God said because the Lord spoke to him through visible signs (dreams, visions or else). Since you have prayed; have you been watching to see?
Being ready to answer
There is the idea of an ongoing dialogue; of a continual exchange. He complained, he knows God is going to answer, and he gets ready to wisely reply to what the Lord is going to say. I emphasize the word wisely; because you don’t speak to the Lord anyhow. In a conversation that has since become famous, even Abraham who was numbered among the intimates of God’s intimates, addressed Him in this way: “I have undertaken to speak to the Lord, I who am but dust and ashes… Oh let not the Lord be angry, and I will speak…” (Gen 18:27-32). Habakkuk himself first appealed to the Lord’s holiness before pleading his case: “You who are of purer eyes than to see evil and cannot look at wrong, why do you idly look at traitors and remain silent?” (Hab 1:13). Naturally, this step is impossible if one has not previously been sufficiently vigilant not to miss what the Lord is saying.
Writing the vision
God did not say: "Remember the vision" but, “Write the vision; make it plain on tablets;” so that what He said is never forgotten. The French version says: “Engrave it.” After we’ve prayed, God uses dreams, the Bible, sermons, friends, children, colleagues, the news etc., to answer; but how many are we to hear what He says? And among those who hear, how many write down, engrave or carefully record what God has responded to their requests? Human memory is not a computer, and even if this was the case, some computers have only 16GB while others have more than 600. Furthermore, the hard disk can be victim of a virus (sin) and crash. The truth is that we do not realize that the word of God is more precious than anything.
We are quicker to keep and frame the autograph of a celebrity than treating the Word of God with high esteem. But it is the sesame that opens Ali Baba’s treasure (for those who have read the story). When we pray for a job or a spouse; if we ask God what we need to do in order to heal our marriage or understand and help a child who is wandering away; if we are desperate for an idea that will help us breakthrough; when we cry to the Lord because our project is not going anywhere; or we panic because we do not know what to say at that interview, God answers and gives the solution to our problem. Unfortunately, we are either too depressed, anxious, busy or distracted to hear and listen; or we hear but we don’t realize that the pearl of great price has just fallen into our hands…
When you pray, imagine that you are a sentinel on a tower and that your role is to announce the arrival of messengers of good news or of imminent danger to the city. The city is your life, your marriage, your job, your family, your children, your health, your business, you name it. To secure the city, to protect those things and ensure their prosperity, you cannot afford not to see what is coming.
This may sound harsh; but I want to say that if what you are praying for is not important enough for you to take your stand at your post, staying alert and scrutinizing the horizon, using binoculars if necessary to see what God has to say; if your prayer topic is not important enough for you to keep a diary of what God is saying about it, then use your time in a more ‘useful’ manner and don’t ‘waste’ it in prayer.
Finally, think about this; if we have the Bible today, and if you can read me this morning, it is because some people took a stand at their posts; watched; answered back and wrote their visions and what God had told them down, so that those who read them may run.
Have a great week and God bless you!
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