Growing Through SufferingSample

Waiting on God

Why does it sometimes take so long for God to answer our prayers? And what do we do while we’re waiting?

We trust that God knows everything about us and is intimately acquainted with the details of our lives. We believe that he cares about all that concerns us, big or small, and promises to hear and respond to us when we pray (Psalms 34:15; 139:1; 1 Peter 5:7). In prayer, by faith, we invite God to minister to us with his promised comfort, rescue, and help (Isaiah 30:18). However, his answers are not always immediate, and his timing is frequently far different than ours (2 Peter 3:8).

In Psalm 13, David cries out, “How long?” no fewer than four times in the span of six short verses. He has been waiting . . . waiting . . . and waiting some more—to the point of feeling forgotten by God. Still, David affirms, “I trust in your unfailing love . . . I will sing to the Lord because he is good to me” (Psalm 13:5-6). Because he had experienced God’s faithfulness, David was able to maintain a spirit of praise and trust while waiting.

Throughout Israel’s wandering in the desert, God instructed the people to set up piles of stones to commemorate distinctive moments of his faithfulness. These memorials became tangible reminders of times when the people saw, felt, and experienced God’s provision and favor. They not only benefited those who built them but also offered assurance for generations to come (Joshua 4:1-7). In Psalm 40, David sets up a “pile of stones” by recalling all the ways he has previously seen, felt, and experienced God. By doing this, he worships God in the present and also fortifies himself for the future. In fact, David has so many things on his list that he declares, “If I tried to recite all your wonderful deeds, I would never come to the end of them” (Psalm 40:5).

Remembering God’s past faithfulness emboldened David to cry out to the Lord for his existing need. We, like David, are encouraged to ask, seek, and knock (Matthew 7:7) as we refresh our memories of God’s faithfulness to us (Psalm 40:13, 17). We may need to wait for God’s answers, but we can choose to trust and praise him while we wait and inspire others to do the same.