How do I wait on God?
You’ve prayed for a long time: for a spouse, a child, a breakthrough, a door to open. Nothing has moved, and you’re starting to wonder if God heard you.
Waiting on God isn’t sitting still and hoping. It is trusting Him actively while you wait for His timing: praying, obeying and growing in the meantime. “But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint” (Isaiah 40:31). God is never late, and the waiting is never wasted. The wait is often where God does His deepest work, not in your situation but in you.
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Abraham waited twenty-five years
God promised Abraham a son when he was seventy-five years old. Then the years went by. Ten years. Twenty. Abraham and Sarah tried to make it happen their own way, and it caused pain that lasted generations. Abraham was a hundred and Sarah was ninety when Isaac was finally born (Genesis 12:4; 21:5). Sarah laughed when she heard the promise; when it came true, she laughed again for a different reason: “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me” (Genesis 21:6).
Why God makes us wait
To grow our faith and character (James 1:2–4; Romans 5:3–4). Because His timing sees what we can’t (Ecclesiastes 3:11). To prepare us for what we’re asking for. To draw us closer to Him than to the thing we want.
How to wait well
Keep praying, honestly. Keep obeying what you already know. Don’t force it, like Abraham and Sarah did. Remember what God has already done. Stay around people of faith. And thank Him in advance (Philippians 4:6).
What the Bible says
- 01
Renew their strength.
“Do you not know? Have you not heard? The LORD is the everlasting God, the Creator of the ends of the earth. He will not grow tired or weary; His understanding is beyond searching out. He gives power to the faint and increases the strength of the weak. Even youths grow tired and weary, and young men stumble and fall. But those who wait upon the LORD will renew their strength; they will mount up with wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not faint.”
Isaiah 40:28–31 - 02
Wait for the LORD.
“Wait patiently for the LORD; be strong and courageous. Wait patiently for the LORD!”
Psalm 27:14 - 03
Good to those who wait.
“The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the soul who seeks Him. It is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.”
Lamentations 3:25–26 - 04
It will surely come.
“For the vision awaits an appointed time; it testifies of the end and does not lie. Though it lingers, wait for it, since it will surely come and will not delay.”
Habakkuk 2:3 - 05
We wait with patience.
“But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.”
Romans 8:25 - 06
Isaac is born.
“Now the LORD attended to Sarah as He had said, and the LORD did for Sarah what He had promised. So Sarah conceived and bore a son to Abraham in his old age, at the very time God had promised. And Abraham gave the name Isaac to the son Sarah bore to him. When his son Isaac was eight days old, Abraham circumcised him, as God had commanded him. Abraham was a hundred years old when his son Isaac was born to him. Then Sarah said, “God has made me laugh, and everyone who hears of this will laugh with me.” She added, “Who would have told Abraham that Sarah would nurse children? Yet I have borne him a son in his old age.””
Genesis 21:1–7
Scripture from the Berean Standard Bible.
Write down what you’re waiting for, and under it, three things God has already done for you. Read the list whenever the wait feels long.
Common questions
What if God says no?
Sometimes He does, because He sees what we can’t. His no is always for our good, and He is still worth trusting (Romans 8:28).
How do I know if I should keep waiting or move on?
Pray, seek wise counsel, and look at what doors are open. God’s guidance and peace will lead you.
Is it a lack of faith to feel impatient?
No. The psalmists cried, “How long, O LORD?” (Psalm 13:1). Bring the impatience to Him.
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