Over the last five years I’ve written and published I don’t know how many posts on waiting for answers to prayer. I’ve written that waiting doesn't mean just sitting around and doing nothing but waiting on God is active as we exercise faith in Him. I’ve written that while we wait we should never forget that God is with us as we wait.
Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
I’ve written that we wait because believe that God loves us and that He keeps His promises .
Psalms 145:13 NLT For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
I’ve written that while we wait God may be working to put things in place for the perfect time. I’ve written that waiting teaches us patience which will end in perfection.
James 1:2-4 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Yes I’ve written about waiting and trusting and I believe the things that the scriptures tell me about God’s faithfulness. However when you've been praying and waiting for something for years and no answer there come times when your faith starts to falter. Yes know that God will either answer yes or no. You also know that He may still have you to wait. It’s at these times, and I’m going through one of those times now, that you have to rely on the Holy Spirit to encourage you to be patient.
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
Deuteronomy 31:6 NLT So be strong and courageous! Do not be afraid and do not panic before them. For the Lord your God will personally go ahead of you. He will neither fail you nor abandon you.”
I’ve written that we wait because believe that God loves us and that He keeps His promises .
Psalms 145:13 NLT For your kingdom is an everlasting kingdom. You rule throughout all generations. The Lord always keeps his promises; he is gracious in all he does.
I’ve written that while we wait God may be working to put things in place for the perfect time. I’ve written that waiting teaches us patience which will end in perfection.
James 1:2-4 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, when troubles of any kind come your way, consider it an opportunity for great joy. For you know that when your faith is tested, your endurance has a chance to grow. So let it grow, for when your endurance is fully developed, you will be perfect and complete, needing nothing.
Yes I’ve written about waiting and trusting and I believe the things that the scriptures tell me about God’s faithfulness. However when you've been praying and waiting for something for years and no answer there come times when your faith starts to falter. Yes know that God will either answer yes or no. You also know that He may still have you to wait. It’s at these times, and I’m going through one of those times now, that you have to rely on the Holy Spirit to encourage you to be patient.
Galatians 5:22-23 NLT But the Holy Spirit produces this kind of fruit in our lives: love, joy, peace, patience, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness, and self-control. There is no law against these things!
God Acts On Behalf Of Those Who Wait For Him
By Dr. Charles Stanley from Life Principles To Live By 30 Day Reading Plan from InTouch Ministries
Life Principle 14: God acts on behalf of those who wait for Him.
In this hurry-up world, waiting for anything can cause us to lose our temper and our good sense more often than we care to admit. Yet the Word of God insists we learn some of life’s greatest lessons while we wait. Though waiting rooms can be hard classrooms, God promises vast reward to those who wait for Him.
When we wait on God …
We discover His will.
God does not allow delay in giving us the desire of our hearts to lead us along. Rather, even as we wait, He reveals His will to us and works all things together for our good and His glory.
Romans 8:28 NLT 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.
We receive supernatural energy and strength.
As God deepens our relationship with Him through times of waiting, He also increases our energy, faith, endurance, and strength.
Isaiah 40:29-31 NLT He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
We’re victorious in battle.
When we do things our way in our time, we end up defeated. But when we wait on God and obey His commands, He ensures our victory.
Proverbs 20:22 NLT Don’t say, “I will get even for this wrong.” Wait for the Lord to handle the matter.
We see the fulfillment of our faith.
Though others may encourage us to forge ahead instead of waiting on the Lord, we must remember He’s the only One who can truly help us and who will never let us down.
Isaiah 49:23 NLT Kings and queens will serve you and care for all your needs. They will bow to the earth before you and lick the dust from your feet. Then you will know that I am the Lord . Those who trust in me will never be put to shame.”
We witness Him working on our behalf.
While we actively wait, God actively works.
Isaiah 64:4 NLT For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him!
Every single day, we have the greatest Mediator working on our behalf. And even when things seem to go wrong, He’s making sure that everything works according to His purpose. What a wonderful promise!
Although waiting can be one of the more difficult things in the Christian life, it’s not wasted time. God gives us instructions through periods of actively waiting, keeps us in step with His will, prepares us for His answers, and uses the time to sift our motives and strengthen our faith. When we choose to wait on Him, God will use the long pauses in our lives for our blessing—both large and unexpected—if we let Him.
Wait
From Hope In The Dark Reading Plan by Craig Groeschel
Teach us, O Lord, the disciplines of patience, for to wait is often harder than to work.
—Peter Marshall
Most of us don’t have to wait very long for anything anymore. Just think about how antsy you feel when the dentist is running behind schedule. Drives you crazy, doesn’t it?
Apparently, Habakkuk wasn’t crazy about waiting either. Nonetheless, he knew that was the next thing he had to do if he was going to make it out of the valley of despondency. God told him, “The revelation awaits an appointed time; it speaks of the end and will not prove false. Though it linger, wait for it; it will certainly come and will not delay”
Habakkuk 2:2-3 NLT Then the Lord said to me, “Write my answer plainly on tablets, so that a runner can carry the correct message to others. This vision is for a future time. It describes the end, and it will be fulfilled. If it seems slow in coming, wait patiently, for it will surely take place. It will not be delayed.
The Hebrew word here for “appointed time” is mow’ed, which means the right time, the affixed time, the divinely chosen time that God permits something to happen. There’s an old saying that God is rarely early, never late, and always right on time. That’s summed up by mow’ed.
Maybe you’ve been praying for what seems like forever for someone you love to come to Christ. So you wait. You might be asking God for another kind of miracle. For someone to be healed. For someone to be freed from an addiction. For a promotion. Or a spouse. So you pray. You wait.
Then you wait some more.
Isaiah 40:26-31 NLT Look up into the heavens. Who created all the stars? He brings them out like an army, one after another, calling each by its name. Because of his great power and incomparable strength, not a single one is missing. O Jacob, how can you say the Lord does not see your troubles? O Israel, how can you say God ignores your rights? Have you never heard? Have you never understood? The Lord is the everlasting God, the Creator of all the earth. He never grows weak or weary. No one can measure the depths of his understanding. He gives power to the weak and strength to the powerless. Even youths will become weak and tired, and young men will fall in exhaustion. But those who trust in the Lord will find new strength. They will soar high on wings like eagles. They will run and not grow weary. They will walk and not faint.
James 5:7-8 NLT Dear brothers and sisters, be patient as you wait for the Lord’s return. Consider the farmers who patiently wait for the rains in the fall and in the spring. They eagerly look for the valuable harvest to ripen. You, too, must be patient. Take courage, for the coming of the Lord is near.
Psalms 27:14 NLT Wait patiently for the Lord . Be brave and courageous. Yes, wait patiently for the Lord .
When you look through Scripture, you’ll see example after example after example of people who are chosen by God, close to him, who still find themselves waiting.
Some seasons in life, you just wait.
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