The "Waiting" of Prayer - What's up with that?

I know all of us have had times when we’ve prayed for something we know the Lord can do (I mean—He can do anything, right?), and yet the answer we’re looking for doesn’t seem obvious.

Right now, as I type this, my husband Dale is in his second week in the hospital in a confounding situation that has clearly become a waiting game. In early December he had what seemed like a normal stomach flu—and it was—but it didn’t resolve normally. The cause has been confirmed as norovirus, one of the two major viruses that causes “stomach flu,” but what set in afterward was a paralysis of his GI tract (paralytic ileus). He has been unable to resume eating, moving his bowels normally, and so on.

In the meantime, his life is literally being saved by modern medicine and carefully monitored hospital care (thank you, Lord, for skilled doctors, nurses, hospital staff, IV bags, and medicines). But… ugh.

“Please, Lord—heal things now. Today. Why can’t today be the day everything starts speedily getting back to normal?”

We know the Lord cares for us—cares? No: He loves us. We know He isn’t ignoring us or turning His back on Dale’s suffering. Still, it leads me into pondering this aspect of prayer: the waiting that is often involved between what we want and when—and how—God answers.

So let’s—as always is best—get out our shovels and start digging into what God has to tell us through His Word.

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WAITING ON THE LORD — A SCRIPTURAL FOUNDATION

Before we interpret waiting, we must establish this unmistakable truth:

Waiting on the LORD is not an occasional theme in Scripture—it is a normative posture of faith.

Below is a broad sampling (not exhaustive) of Scripture showing how often God speaks of waiting, who waits, and what God promises while we wait.

WHAT THE BIBLE SAYS — AGAIN AND AGAIN

Psalm 27:14 "Wait for the Lord; Be strong and let your heart take courage; Yes, wait for the Lord."

Psalm 37:7 "Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for him…

Psalm 37:34 "Wait on the LORD, and keep his way, and he shall exalt thee to inherit the land…"

Psalm 40:1 "I waited patiently for the LORD; and he inclined unto me, and heard my cry."

Psalm 62:1 "Truly my soul waiteth upon God: from him cometh my salvation."

Psalm 62:5 "My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him."

Psalm 130:5 "I wait for the LORD, my soul doth wait, and in his word do I hope."

Isaiah 30:18 "And therefore will the LORD wait, that he may be gracious unto you… blessed are all they that wait for him."

Isaiah 40:31 “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 49:23 "...for they shall not be ashamed that wait for me."

Lamentations 3:25–26 "The LORD is good unto them that wait for him, to the soul that seeketh him. It is good that a man should both hope and quietly wait for the salvation of the LORD."

Hosea 12:6 "Therefore turn thou to thy God: keep mercy and judgment, and wait on thy God continually."

Micah 7:7 "Therefore I will look unto the LORD; I will wait for the God of my salvation: my God will hear me."

Romans 8:25 "But if we hope for that we see not, then do we with patience wait for it."

James 5:7–8 "Be patient therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord… establish your hearts: for the coming of the Lord draweth nigh."

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This morning as part of my early "appetizer" reading, I picked up William Jay's Morning and Evening. William Jay was a contemporary of Charles Spurgeon, my "favorite," and Spurgeon read his stuff. Jay's entry for today - Jan 12 - centered on this passage:

“Now when Pharaoh had let the people go, God did not lead them by the way of the land of the Philistines, even though it was near; for God said, ‘The people might change their minds when they see war, and return to Egypt.’ Hence God led the people around by the way of the wilderness to the Red Sea; and the sons of Israel went up in martial array from the land of Egypt.” Exodus 13: 17-18

If God had simply zipped the Hebrews straight up the Gaza Strip (the land of the Philistines - remember David later killed the Giant Goliath, who was a Philistine), the people would have been confronted by a well-trained and well-equipped army and would have found themselves in battle after battle. Then, God said, they would want to go back to the life of slavery in Egypt. So God took them the long, long way, leading them west to the wilderness in the area of the Red Sea. Not the fastest, not the most direct, appearing to make no sense, and, yet, from God's perspective, it did make sense.

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WHAT WAITING ON THE LORD BRINGS TO HIM

I always like to look at things from this perspective first, as all things are by Him and for Him. What might our waiting for the Lord to answer our prayers in His time and in His ways do for Him?

Waiting Glorifies God Through Trust

Waiting says something powerful without words - “God, I trust Your wisdom more than my urgency.”

“He that believeth shall not make haste.”—Isaiah 28:16

Faith that waits declares God to be wise, sovereign, and good—even when outcomes are unclear. It refuses to force a solution that might later require repentance.

This kind of waiting glorifies God because it treats Him as God, not as a vending machine for relief.

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WHAT WAITING BUILDS IN US

Waiting Builds Faith the Fastest

Faith does not grow best in instant answers—it grows in sustained dependence.

“Knowing this, that the trying of your faith worketh patience.”—James 1:3

“Tribulation worketh patience; and patience, experience; and experience, hope.”—Romans 5:3–4

Waiting stretches faith from belief into endurance. It moves us from “I know God can” to “I know God will, even if not yet.”

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GRACE MEETS US IN THE WAITING

Here is the point many believers miss—and where despair often sneaks in:

Waiting is not a grace-free zone.

God does not say, “Endure this on your own until I feel like answering.”

He promises present-tense sufficiency. “My grace is sufficient for thee: for my strength is made perfect in weakness.”—2 Corinthians 12:9

Grace is not merely the end of the waiting; it is the means of surviving it.

“As thy days, so shall thy strength be.”—Deuteronomy 33:25

Not tomorrow’s strength today. Not the whole journey’s strength at once. But exactly enough grace for today’s demand.

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WHEN GOD DELAYS TO PROTECT, NOT PUNISH

Scripture also tells us something sobering and merciful:

Sometimes God allows affliction—not because He is displeased, but because unchecked momentum would lead to greater harm.

“Before I was afflicted I went astray: but now have I kept thy word.”—Psalm 119:67

“It is good for me that I have been afflicted; that I might learn thy statutes.”—Psalm 119:71

Paul himself understood this principle deeply:

“…there was given to me a thorn in the flesh… lest I should be exalted above measure.”—2 Corinthians 12:7

Sometimes God restrains us with difficulty because speed would destroy us.

The Israelites were spared the Philistine road not because God was slow—but because He knew what premature warfare would cost them.

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WHEN GOD IS SILENT — IT DOESN'T MEAN HE IS ANGRY

This must be said plainly, because many tender consciences need to hear it:

Delay does not equal displeasure.

“The LORD is not slack concerning his promise…”—2 Peter 3:9

“For the vision is yet for an appointed time… though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.”—Habakkuk 2:3

God’s timing is not emotional but purposeful.

And waiting does not push Him away—it often draws Him nearer.

“The LORD is nigh unto them that are of a broken heart.”—Psalm 34:18

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A FINAL WORD FOR THE WAITER

So, if today you find yourself sitting in one of God’s waiting rooms, know this:

It does not mean He loves you any less.It does not mean He is displeased with you. And it does not mean you’ve failed somehow—by not praying enough, not praying right, or not having sufficient faith.

“He knoweth the way that I take…” (Job 23:10)

The Lord is fully aware of the path you are on. He is involved in the intricate details of your situation—details you cannot yet see, and perhaps cannot even imagine. What feels to us like delay is often His careful restraint; what feels like silence is often His attentive oversight.

And one day—yes, hopefully soon—you will look back and see more clearly the why of His ways in your particular circumstance. You will recognize His wisdom where you once only felt waiting. And rather than diminishing your love for Him, it will deepen it.

Until then, He remains near. He remains faithful. And He supplies grace enough—for this day.

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Of course, the saying of a prayer is the reflection of a monumental and life-changing heart decision, but this is a good guide.