How to Wait Ready - Waiting for the Morning - Shauna Pilgreen

Christmas feels like forever to kids and like it shows up every six months to adults. That tension names our hearts in December: kids can’t wait; adults aren’t ready. I invited us to take a child’s posture—open, expectant—because the greatest gift is not under a tree. It’s Jesus, who brings forgiveness, a new life, and the Holy Spirit. We prayed for those ready to receive him, and I reminded us that the Spirit isn’t a one-time add-on at conversion. He keeps filling, guiding, comforting, and empowering.

We looked at Simeon—a righteous, devout man who waited ready. He had a promise from the Spirit and lived with his ears open and his feet willing. Luke says the Spirit was on him, revealed things to him, and moved him into the temple at just the right moment to hold Jesus. That’s not accidental spirituality; that’s a life apprenticed to the Spirit. The consolation of Israel—the comfort we long for—arrives in Christ, and the Comforter comes alongside us as we wait. Waiting ready isn’t passive. It’s expectant. It’s prayerful. It’s responsive.

I asked whether others would describe us as Spirit-filled, not in hype or performance, but in holy availability: covered, empowered, steady. Some of us feel empty in this season. Emptiness is not a disqualifier; it’s capacity. An empty me creates more room for the Almighty. The Spirit delights to reveal himself through Scripture and prayer, and the more we attend to his whisper, the more we notice his nudge. Then comes the courageous part: obedience. Keep in step with the Spirit—at work, in the middle of the night, in conversations you’d rather avoid, in decisions you’d rather delay. Faith is often a hunch that God is in this—and a step that tests the hunch.

God has not hidden salvation backstage. He prepared it “in the presence of all peoples.” He is right in front of us. Our room has been a waiting room this Advent, but waiting is already a place of encounter. I believe the Lord is multiplying peace, reverence, and comfort among us. So I invited anyone hungry for a fresh filling to come forward, to move from reserved to responsive, from settled to surrendered. Let’s ask simply and boldly: Come, Holy Spirit.

Key Takeaways

• 1. Wait ready like Simeon Waiting is not idling. It is a Spirit-attentive posture that keeps you in the right places at the right times, even when you don’t control the outcomes. Simeon knew what he was waiting for, not how it would arrive, and that was enough to keep him present and available. Expectancy narrows your focus and opens your hands. [08:01]
• 2. Invite the Spirit to rest on you There are moments of special inspiration when the Spirit covers and empowers in ways you cannot manufacture. Ask for that covering, not to feel dramatic, but to be faithful. A Spirit-on-you life is ordinary obedience infused with divine power. [11:52]
• 3. Ask the Spirit to reveal and teach Scripture and prayer are ordinary doors the Spirit uses to illuminate holy patterns you can’t unsee once seen. He is Comforter, Counselor, and Teacher—gentle, clear, and persistent. Revelation is given to be lived, not collected. [16:37]
• 4. Keep in step with Spirit promptings Listening matures into movement. Obedience often starts as a humble hunch: I think God is in this. Take the step and let experience refine your discernment; fear of “getting it wrong” keeps more of us stuck than actual mistakes do. [26:30]
• 5. Let emptiness become capacity Seasons of dryness and melancholy don’t disqualify you; they make space. When you can’t even pray much, your poverty becomes room for Presence. Don’t rush to fill the void with noise—welcome the One who fills without numbing. [16:10]

Youtube Chapters

• [00:00] - Welcome
• [00:31] - A Gift You Can Open Now
• [01:21] - Two Realities And A Promise
• [02:15] - Holy Spirit In The Christmas Story
• [04:18] - Come, Holy Spirit Prayer
• [05:48] - Learning To Wait Like Simeon
• [06:14] - Luke 2:25-35 Read Aloud
• [10:45] - Consolation Of Israel And Comforter
• [11:52] - Three Movements: On, Reveal, Move
• [13:45] - Would Someone Call You Spirit-Filled?
• [16:10] - Empty Creates Space For The Almighty
• [23:18] - Keep In Step With The Spirit
• [26:30] - Expect To Hear And Obey
• [28:46] - Power In The Waiting Room
• [32:08] - Come Forward: Receive The Holy Spirit

1. In Luke 2:25–27, what three ways does Luke describe the Spirit’s work in Simeon’s life?
2. In Luke 2:29–32, how does Simeon describe God’s salvation, and for whom is it prepared?
3. “He knew what he was waiting for; he just didn’t know how it was going to play out.” What everyday pictures of “waiting ready” were given? [08:01]
4. What did “the consolation of Israel” mean in that day, and how was it linked to the Spirit as Comforter (“the comforter waits with us”)? [11:27]

1. If “waiting ready” means knowing the what but not the how (“He knew what he was waiting for… not how it was going to play out”), what does that suggest about faith and releasing control during Advent? [08:01]
2. “An empty me creates so much more space for the Almighty.” How should a community view seasons of dryness—as disqualification or as capacity? What shifts if emptiness is seen as invitation? [16:10]
3. If salvation is “prepared in the presence of all peoples” (Luke 2:31–32), what does that imply about how openly and corporately God intends to reveal himself?
4. “Let us also keep in step with the Spirit.” What markers show someone is walking in the Spirit’s rhythm rather than merely in self-driven plans? [23:18]

1. Where are you currently “waiting”? What would “waiting ready” look like this week—showing up, staying attentive, narrowing your focus, opening your hands—rather than drifting or numbing out? “Do you get tired of waiting? Distracted by everyday life?” [09:48]
2. When and where will you pause and simply pray, “Come, Holy Spirit,” in the next five days? Pick two specific moments (before a meeting, during a commute, right before a hard conversation) and plan your 30-second prayer. “Come, Holy Spirit…” [04:18]
3. How will you make space for the Spirit to reveal and teach through Scripture and prayer? Name one passage you’ll sit in and one quiet window you’ll guard. Look for a “once I saw it, I couldn’t unsee it” moment. [16:37]
4. Where might you take a small, courageous “hunch-step” of obedience—at work, in the middle of the night, with a person you’d rather avoid? What is the step, and when will you take it? “It’s all by faith… with a hunch that this is what God has.” [26:30]
5. If you feel empty or melancholy, what is one gentle practice you’ll adopt this week to turn emptiness into capacity—five minutes of silence, a slow walk, a psalm, asking a friend to pray? “An empty me creates so much more space for the Almighty.” [16:10]
6. Since God’s salvation is “right in front of us,” where do you sense God already at work around you—home, neighborhood, workplace—and how will you join him there in a simple way? “God did all of this… right in front of us.” [26:30]
7. What is one concrete way you will move from reserved to responsive in community—coming forward for prayer, offering to pray for someone, sharing a Spirit-nudge with your group, or risking a hard act of obedience? “Let’s make it a moving room.” [28:46]