I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I hope;
— Psalm 130:5
Wait (qavah) look eagerly for. A primitive root; to bind together (perhaps by twisting),
i.e. Collect; to expect, gather (together), look, patiently, tarry, wait
—Strong’s Exhaustive Concordance
To wait for Jehovah is not simply a matter of patience, or even of longing, but includes the ideas of trust and the confidence which characterize hope.
—Precept Austin
Pray and stay are words for every day.
—Charles Spurgeon
Research
Wait (06960) (qavah from a root meaning twisting or winding a cord) means to wait for, to hope for, to look eagerly for; to lie in wait for; linger for, to expect. The basic idea is to wait for or look for with eager expectation.
To wait for Jehovah is not simply a matter of patience, or even of longing, but includes the ideas of trust and the confidence which characterize hope.
As discussed at the outset of this note, clearly patiently waiting for Jehovah reflects an attitude of trusting and hoping in Him. John Calvin explains this interrelationship noting that “patience is the fruit and proof of faith” and “hope is the foundation of patience”. Calvin goes on to say that “There is no place for faith if we expect God to fulfil immediately what He promises.” (cp Ro 8:24, 25-note) In other words such a person is not trusting and thus is unwilling to wait patiently on Jehovah to fulfill His word.
Hope (with its biblical dimension of certainty) is one facet of qavah, which also includes ‘waiting’ (patience) and ‘resting’ (trusting). The participial form points to those in whom this relationship (of expectation, patience and trust) with the Lord is unchanging.
—Motyer
The word “wait” does not suggest that we sit around and do nothing. It means “to hope,” to look to God for all that we need (Is 26:3; 30:15).
—Warren Wiersbe
Everything comes to the man who can wait. It is only a matter of time. Patience beholds great wonders. In spiritual things, if we watch and wait, we shall see glorious things.
God waits to be gracious, and the gracious wait on God. God, who feeds his ravens, will feed his doves.
Knock at mercy’s gate, but wait till it opens to you. Too many prayers are a sort of runaway knock, for they are not attended with expectant waiting upon God.
Fret not in a hurry. Tarry a bit and see what time will do. “The husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it.”—James 5:7. In spiritual things we must learn to wait patiently.
“Our husbandmen for harvest wait and stay;
Oh, let not any saint do less than they!”
Patient waiters are no losers. Everything comes to the man who is able to wait for it.
With patience I the storm sustain,
For sunshine still doth follow rain.
Pray and stay are words for every day. Good words and wise. Practise both. Worship and wait. God’s answers are not always immediate. His delays are not denials. Erskine rightly says:—
I’m heard when answered soon or late;
And heard when I no answer get:
Yea, kindly answer’d when refused,
And treated well when harshly us’d.
—Charles Spurgeon
To investigate, further research
In Genesis 1:9, qavah is used.
And God said, “Let the waters under the heavens be gathered together into one place, and let the dry land appear.” And it was so.
The word gathered is gavah. The tense form is yikkavu.
From “The Creation According to the Midrash Rabbah” (page 175)
In verse 9 the waters followed God’s command and they waited together. Most translations use the word gathered, but the word is waited. The idea was they waited for God’s plan to go into action.
—hebrewwordlessons.com
In Genesis 1:9 God said, “Let the waters below the heavens be ” I discover the verb, qavah, has an additional meaning to the the idea of waiting. It also means “to collect or bind together.” Qavah suggests that separate threads are entwined together to make a strong cord. The revelation hits me that my fellow passengers have the purpose of encouraging me in my “waiting”. Gathered together, we support and strengthen one another. None of us knows what the Heavenly Father is doing. But we all rest in the knowing that we can abide in Him, tarry with Him, and wait with Him. Joyfully we can embrace our encounter with time and tarry until our Heavenly Father reveals what is next in our lives, and how He may restore twice as much to us.
—Dr. Julie Caton
[Waiting is tied together with strength. Lettersfromtheloft.com writes in “HEBREW WORD STUDY: WHAT DOES IT MEAN TO WAIT FOR THE LORD?“]
“Then God said, ‘Let the waters below and the heavens be gathered [qavah] into one place, and let the dry land appear’; and it was so.” (Genesis 1:9)
qavah can mean “gathering” — especially gathering strength. (It can also mean binding or tying something strongly together.)
“Yet those who wait for the LORD
Will gain new strength;
They will mount up with wings like eagles,
They will run and not get tired,
They will walk and not become weary.”
(Isaiah 40:31)
“Wait for the LORD;
Be strong and let your heart take courage;
Yes, wait for the LORD.”
(Psalm 27:14)
“O LORD, be gracious to us;
We have waited for You.
Be their strength every morning,
Our salvation also in the time of distress.”
(Isaiah 33:2)