How should a Christian wait when he or she prays fervently for specific things, but it seems like God — at least for now — is silent?
I’ve struggled with writing this article — because I sense the pain of the person who waits and prays about specific things, yet God seems silent. There’s hurt and confusion in the heart when this happens. But He’s not silent! He speaks to us many, many times in His promises, reassuring us with them and soothing our hurts while we wait. That’s why I have a subtitle: We should wait clinging to God’s promises.
God lets us know that He loves us. He hears us when we pray. Our names are written on the palm of His hand. He knew how difficult our personal situations would be when He made the promises. The Lord takes us by our right hand. Christ’s love is wide and long and high and deep (Eph. 3:18 NIV). He offers you the unspeakably comforting invitation to “Cast your cares on Him and He will sustain you …” (Ps. 55:22 NIV). Then its companion verse (Ps. 37:5 KJV) invites us to “Commit thy way to the Lord, trust also in him; and he shall bring it to pass.” He doesn’t just sustain us, He acts!
I once asked a young woman who was suffering greatly, “Which of Christ’s promises are most comforting to you in the situation you’re in?”
She answered with no hesitation. Matthew 11:28 is her go-to promise as she waits for deliverance. Let the same verse comfort your heart as you wait for your own deliverance: “Come to me, all you who are weary and burdened, and I will give you rest.” Never let the long wait discourage you. Just cling to Matthew 11:28 and come to Jesus.
• Remember: You Can Pray Because of Christ
As we rest in Jesus, we get keen insight into God’s promises. We see that what the pulpit is to doctrine and precepts, the picture of a child in the Father’s arms — in a rocking chair at fireside — is to the promises. What a marvelous, intimate relationship with the Lord. We can pour our hearts out to Him as we wait.
Another favorite verse of many Christians is Psalm 84:11: “For the Lord is a sun and shield; the Lord bestows favor and honor; no good thing does He withhold from those whose walk is blameless.” What does it mean to walk blameless? Does God expect us to have absolutely no sin in our lives? If that were the case, none of us could ever pray. We are not blameless because we are sinless; we are blameless because Christ paid the price for us to be that way.
When we know He has done this, we can expect to see our Father withholding absolutely no good thing from us. What a fortifying promise! The enormous possibilities for the scope of our prayers in this verse should make our heads spin! And it will absolutely transform our prayer lives.
“Delight yourself in the Lord and He will give you the desires of your heart” (Ps. 37:4). When we delight ourselves in God — in God Himself and not just the smooth days and good things He brings — God gives us the desires of our heart. It’s a wonderful assurance to the waiting petitioner that there is nothing beyond the reach of our prayer, no person outside its influence. There’s no prison so secure that prayer cannot penetrate, no country so closed that we cannot reach its citizens. There’s no child so lost that they cannot be found — even though they are totally outside our ability to rescue. So, enjoy God — treasure Him — revel in the time you spend with Him and gaze at His character and loving heart — then trust Him to give you the desires of your heart.
• Wed Waiting with Patience: God is Always on Time
While you’re waiting, remember to give God time to work. Understand that He seldom zaps. Rather, He works all things together for our good. He’s working in us, He’s working in the one we are praying for, and He’s working in the situations we pray about. God is sovereign over all things, and there is a very comforting connection between His sovereignty and our fervent prayer for specific things. The Lord is the great Coordinator of His children’s affairs. He answers not a moment too soon nor a moment too late. Our Father is always right on time.
God is with you, and He speaks promises — promises He keeps. So, turn to Him in faith and trust Him — commit your urgent and difficult problem to Him. You may have a child with great physical needs, and you’ve been waiting for an appointment with the specialist. When his office calls, thank God for this step — this little evidence of His working on your behalf, proof that He is moving your petition forward. Rejoice and take hope in each small step along the way. Relax in the encouragement He extends.
• Prayer
Father, help us see through and beyond the intervening events of life that separate us from your complete answers to all prayer. Sometimes we are in such pain that the wait seems almost unendurable. But despite all this, let us learn that if you have promised it, it’s as good as done no matter how long the wait. May we take heart in the many biblical characters, like David, who illustrated a great truth for us. The longer the wait, the more wonderful and magnificent the answer.
But, O, Father, when we pray for your promises, yet must wait for the answer, please give us faith as big and solid and unshakable as Mount Rushmore. Then teach us the holy art of mixing preserving prayer, your promises and a great unwavering faith, so that prayer which once seemed the most agonizing and hard to lift, that was once the cause of sleepless nights and many tears, takes on a wondrous buoyancy that ascends as light and irresistible as holy whispers — all the way to your listening throne, and there receives your long-awaited answers.
— Carol Archer has been a student of Scripture-based prayer for more than 25 years. She has been a women’s speaker and teacher in South Carolina since 2011 and a women’s ministries leader for the last seven years. She is the author of A Seat in the Heavenlies: Lord, Show Us How to Pray, reprinted by Courier Publishing in November 2024. Carol and her husband reside in Irmo, S.C.