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Waiting for an answer or the fulfilment of God’s promises is one of the hardest experiences I’ve had to go through.
When I was in high school, I read the Hall of Faith in Hebrews eleven and wondered why God called it faith when He promises something and all a person has to do is trust and wait. But now I appreciate the need for faith while waiting for His answers to my prayers.
After you have done your best to nurture the 10 conditions and overcome the 10 hindrances of prayer, you might think the next day God will knock at your door with a parcel of your answered prayer. But scripture is a witness that God answers prayer in His way and time, thus sometimes we have to wait patiently for Him to act, answer and deliver.
The psalmists went through a period of waiting, so he wrote, “I’m confident of this: I will see the goodness of the LORD in the land of the living. Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD.” (Psalm 27:13-14)
Another said, “I wait for the LORD, my soul waits, and in his word I put my hope. My soul waits for the LORD, more than watchmen wait for the morning…” (Psalm 130: 5-6)
Abraham waited twenty-five years for a son, Joseph waited over thirteen years for his dreams to come true, David waited many years to become King, women in the Bible waited for children and many others waited for God’s answers and promises to come true.
As you read this, “all creation is waiting eagerly for that future day when God will reveal who his children really are… when it will join God’s children in glorious freedom from death and decay.” (Romans 8:19-21)
We wait for that time when heaven will welcome us into our eternal home where there will be no more weeping, dying, getting sick or worrying. Waiting is part of our Christian walk.
Five Benefits of Waiting for God’s Answers
#1: God Works On Your Behalf As You Wait
“For since the world began, no ear has heard and eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!”
(Isaiah 64:4)
In the silence of waiting, God is working. He never sleeps nor slumbers. He so watches over all His creation that even a small sparrow cannot fall to the ground without His consent or knowledge. (Matthew 10:29) Will He then be idle in working on your behalf, His precious child?
Just because you don’t see how He is going to answer doesn’t mean He won’t answer. His ways and thoughts differ from yours. (Isaiah 55:8-9)
He sees the entire picture of your life and knows how best to fight for you.
Stop fighting for yourself. Be still and trust Him with the details. You may feel helpless and even foolish to be there and do nothing but the waiting position is your demonstration of faith in a big able God. We must learn to leave things that are beyond our control alone!
“There is a place of stillness that allows God the opportunity to work for us and gives us peace. It is a stillness that ceases our scheming self-vindication, and the search for a temporary means to an end through our own wisdom and judgment. Instead, it lets God provide the answer, through His unfailing and faithful love, to the cruel blow we have suffered.
Oh, how often we thwart God’s intervention on our behalf by taking up our own cause or by striking a blow in our own defense,” wrote A. B. Simpson in Streams In The Desert devotional.[1]
After you have done what God has told you or led you to do, that’s enough. Use no indirect or sinful means to save yourself. Instead, surrender your case to the Lord of Heaven’s Armies, the Lord of all the earth and the Holy One of Israel!
One time I was convinced my life was in danger and got false papers to save myself. Later, I realized that fear (False Evidence Appearing Real) was a factor in my sin and felt so ashamed for not trusting God to rescue me.
God will never expect us to lie, cheat, kill, steal or sin in any way for His purposes to be accomplished. Those who do hurt themselves and others.
Our God has a thousand ways to answer our prayer without us doing anything.
Is His hand too short to save or His ear too dull to hear? (Isaiah 59:1)
The beauty of waiting is that in the end, God receives all the glory when He answers. You’ll not stand and say, “I did this, I did that, that’s why I’m where I’m,” instead you’ll lift your hands and say, “Thank you, Lord, thus far have you brought me. Your help has done this!” (Psalms 18:35)
Prophet Isaiah said, “So the LORD must wait for you to come to him so he can show you his love and compassion. For the LORD is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for his help.” (Isaiah 30:18)
Those who wait upon God may look unable, unstable and unpromising but God vindicates, restores and prepares them a table of blessings in the presence of their enemies. He often outdoes the expectations of those who wait upon Him.
“Now all glory to God, who is able, through his mighty power at work within us, to accomplish infinitely more than we might ask or think.” (Ephesians 3:20)
Remember, “no eye has seen, no ear has heard, and no mind has imagined what God has prepared for those who love him.” (1 Corinthians 2:9)
#2: God Works All Things For Your Good As You Wait
“And we know that God causes everything to work together for the good of those who love God and are called according to his purpose for them.” (Romans 8:28)
The moment you became a child of God, He became the new manager or caretaker of your life. You laid down your life for Christ’s sake and started the journey of being transformed into His likeness.
And because you became a citizen of heaven, God began taking a closer interest in the affairs of your life. Nothing that happens in your life is a coincidence but everything is God-incidences. He desires to order your steps so you can always do what He wants, how He wants it, where He wants it and when He wants it. (Psalms 37:23-24, Proverbs 16:9)
Therefore, when you pray and God makes you wait, don’t complain or be offended. When you don’t understand what’s going on in your life, be careful not to question God as if He doesn’t know what He is doing. Can a pot question the counsel of the potter? (Isaiah 29:16, Job 9:12)
Stand on His word and trust Him to cause all things to work together for your good. Wait on Him. And when He comes through for you, it will dawn on you that He knew with great precision what He was doing right from the start. And you’ll break out in thanksgiving and praise!
#3: God speaks As You Wait
“…After the fire there was the sound of a gentle whisper.”
(1 Kings 19:12)
In the shouts of worries, anxiety and complaints, it is hard to hear what God is saying to us. When the storm is raging and the fire is burning, we must seek retreat and rest.
No matter what happens outside, we can learn to be still on the inside. Remember how Jesus slept during the storm and the disciples thought they were going to die? (Mark 4:35-41)
It’s hard to hear the caller when you pick up a phone call in a noisy place. God speaks, but our preoccupation with being delivered hinders our enjoyment of His presence and revelation of Himself to us.
I’ve also learnt that we bring no solution to our problems when we worry. (Matthew 6:27)
We only increase our heartache by trying to figure out everything.
Jesus says, “Do not worry about tomorrow.”
God says, “Be still and know that I am God. My grace is sufficient for you.”
And the Holy Spirit says, “I am here to guide you, counsel you, comfort you and teach you what God wants you to know along the journey.”
#4: God Answers at His Perfect Timing As You Wait
“Yes, God has made everything beautiful for its own time…”
(Ecclesiastes 3:11)
God has set a time for everything. He has set the seasons of winter and summer, night and day, rain and sunshine, planting and harvest.
The times or seasons of your life are in God’s hands. (Psalms 31:15)
He knows the season you’re in right now and He knows when He’ll cross you over to the next season. Just because you’re going through trying times today does not mean you’ll be in the same place next year or the year after.
See how God loves you and desires to do you good. He wishes to give you certain things now but sees you aren’t ready for them. Allow Him to use every opportunity to teach you something in every experience to mature you so you can better accomplish His purpose and assignments for your life.
On the day of July fourth of the devotional, Streams In The Desert, someone made a sad but true observation about people. He says, “We tend to want to pick our blessings from the tree while they are still green, yet God wants us to wait until they are fully ripe.”
Even the wise men of Africa knew that ‘hurry hurry has no blessing’ and the English say ‘great haste makes great waste’!
This is the dilemma of life; much speed is dangerous but little speed is wasteful. Harvest grapes while they are still green, and they become useless, pick them too late and they are unusable. God decides the seasons of our lives. Let us depend on Him to order our steps. (Jeremiah 10:23, Proverbs 20:24)
When Abraham tried to fulfil God’s promise through his effort, he bore Ishmael. (Galatians 4:23) That simple action caused problems for his family and the generations that followed. It is problematic to possess Ishmael blessings – Ishmael spouses, Ishmael jobs, Ishmael children – just because we could not wait!
The lesson here is this;
let God do His work in His way and time. Wait for Isaac rather than chase after Ishmael.
Some Christians speak to God as if He forgets and needs constant reminders. It’s okay to recall what God did and declare what He promised but we should be careful not to pester God as if He is deaf. Even earthly fathers won’t like their children to sing the same thing day after day. It’s not the number or frequency of mentioning our requests that gets us an answer but His timing.
In the Bible, God remembered the Israelites and rescued them from Egypt. He remembered Sarah and gave her a child. When God remembers it means His time to act has come. It’s okay to keep asking but let’s do it in faith, knowing that in God’s good timing and mysterious way, He’ll come through for us.
When Martha and Mary called Jesus to come and heal their brother, Lazarus, Jesus didn’t go right away. He arrived four days later when their brother had already died and buried.
But when Jesus arrived, He called the dead brother out of the grave. They thought it was over because God missed their timing, but Jesus did a great miracle and many Jews put their faith in Him. (John 11)
When God answers your prayers in His perfect time, you’ll know He makes everything beautiful in its time. He is always on time.
#5: God Makes You Mature As You Wait
“… For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance has fully grown, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.” (James 1:2-4)
Waiting is a great test of faith. While you wait, you don’t know when and how it will end. You don’t know who God will use to end the wait. And you might never know why you had to wait in the first place.
And no matter how hard it may get, the Bible tells us to let our endurance grow to the end. We have to endure the pain until our endurance is fully developed. Then when God says enough is enough, He will have perfected, completed and matured us.
God wants us to become like Jesus and imitate Him in everything – speech, thought and deeds. Our efforts can never reach us at such maturity. It has to be the work of the Holy Spirit in us. Then the fruit of the Spirit will be clear in our lives, which is love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. (Galatians 5:22)
A mature Christian in God’s kingdom is useful for every good work. They’re ready to comfort those who suffer the things they suffered and will go anywhere anytime to do the will of God.
Blessed are you when God prepares you before deployment you for ministry. See this article God Prepares His Servant|5 Things To Do Before Deployment
“When a person who suffers reaches a point where he can be calm and carefree, inwardly smiling at his suffering, and no longer asking God to be delivered from it, then the suffering has accomplished its blessed ministry, perseverance has “finished its work” and the pain of the crucifixion has begun to weave itself in a crown,” Streams In The Desert.[2]
Remember always, therefore, dear waiting soul, that God is not delaying your answer just to make you suffer for no reason. He is at work in you before He can do something for you and through you.
Check out this article Where is God When It Hurts?|The 6 SOURCES, 10 REASONS & 12 RESPONSES Of Suffering
What To Do While You Wait
Keep doing the last assignment God gave you. Continue being faithful to the good work you’re doing. Do not let the waiting for your answers bring you to a standstill. Keep serving, keep loving and keep working!
Keep studying, learning and growing. Waiting time is a great opportunity to increase our knowledge of God through the study and meditation of His Word. This kind of renewing your mind will revive, strengthen, encourage and grow you into the person God wants you to be. This will also make you the The Most Wanted Christian Today.
Keep getting ready for your answer. Are you praying for a spouse, get ready as a good spouse-to-be. Are you praying for a job, apply for jobs and sharpen your skills in every way you can. Cooperate with the Holy Spirit to help you uproot the things that may hinder you and plant the seeds of things that will bring a great harvest in your life.
Keep moving forward in Christ. The way through the fire is to keep moving. The way to your destination on a bicycle is to keep pedaling. Do not give up and lie down to die. Be strong and courageous.
Be determined to endure the hardships in your life. Keep abiding in Christ. Focus on the finish line, on the joy of victory and on the prize that awaits you, in the end. (Hebrews 12:1-2)
“O troubled soul, beneath the rod,
Your Father speaks, be still, be still,
Learn to be silent unto God,
And let Him mold you to His will.
O praying soul, be still, be still,
He cannot break His promised Word;
Sink down into His blessed will,
And wait in patience on the Lord.
O waiting soul, be still, be strong,
And though He tarry, trust and wait;
Doubt not, He will not wait too long,
Fear not, He will not come too late.” Streams In The Desert[3]
Thank you for reading this article. I welcome your comments and questions – as iron sharpens iron, let’s sharpen each other.
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Unless otherwise indicated, all Scripture quotations are taken from the Holy Bible, New Living Translation, copyright © 1996, 2004, 2015 by Tyndale House Foundation. Used by permission of Tyndale House Publishers, Carol Stream, Illinois 60188. All rights reserved.
Image by wirestock on Freepik.
[1] Streams in the desert, 366 Daily Devotional Readings, An Updated Edition in Today’s Language, L. B. Cowman.
[2] Streams in the desert, 366 Daily Devotional Readings, An Updated Edition in Today’s Language, L. B. Cowman.
[3] Streams in the desert, 366 Daily Devotional Readings, An Updated Edition in Today’s Language, L. B. Cowman.
Comments
I’ve prayed about a guy who said he loves me but the way I saw his character he doesn’t behave like a born again,I asked God but no answer what do I do,I’ve not accepted him yet
Dear Caroline,
Thanks for getting in touch.
God created you to be a suitable helper to a godly man who understands his role as a husband and father. To give yourself to man who is a not born again or who doesn’t behave like Christ is to set yourself up for a life of misery, frastrution and tears.
If you have the courage, let him know why things can’t work out between the two of you. Then wait on the Lord. If he is the right man for you, God will help him grow in Him and perhaps things will change. But for now, I think it’s best to give him space.
Meanwhile focus on growing in the Lord and becoming the woman He wants you to be. God is working on your issue as you wait.