Do you hate waiting? I often do. I’m impatient and tend to want immediate results, even in matters of prayer. I sometimes get discouraged when a prayer doesn’t seem to be getting an answer. And when I’ve been praying about an ongoing matter for a long time, I’ll often stop or forget about it because it seems like nothing’s changing. Can you relate? In many things today, we’re used to instant gratification. But that’s not how God works most of the time. Often, seeking an answer to prayer is an exercise in patience. If you’re waiting on the Lord to answer a prayer, here are four verses to meditate on in the meantime.

Psalm 130:5

 “I wait for the Lord, my whole being waits,
    and in his word I put my hope.” (NIV)

Sometimes it’s hard to wait. It may feel, as the Psalmist writes, that our “whole being” waits in anguish. Psalm 130 was clearly written by someone in distress, but someone who also knew that with God there is redemption, love, and hope.

James 5:7-8

“Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.  You too, be patient and stand firm, because the Lord’s coming is near.” (NIV)

James teaches us how to withstand suffering—by remembering that whatever happens, we know that the Lord will be coming back to make everything right that is wrong now. Even if this life is full of problems and pain, that’s not the end of the story. What we wait for is more wonderful than we could imagine.

2 Peter 3:-8-9

“But do not overlook this one fact, beloved, that with the Lord one day is as a thousand years, and a thousand years as one day. The Lord is not slow to fulfill his promise as some count slowness, but is patient toward you, not wishing that any should perish, but that all should reach repentance.” (NIV)

Peter reminds us to be patient because God’s timing is not our timing. What seems like a long wait to us is nothing to God. He is timeless and has plans for us that we often don’t understand until long after they come to pass. Don’t lose hope because the answer comes slowly or isn’t what you hoped it should be. God ultimately knows the perfect answer and the perfect timing for what you need.

Matthew 7:7-8

“Ask and it will be given to you; seek and you will find; knock and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives; the one who seeks finds; and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened. (NIV)

In Luke 18, Jesus tells a parable about a widow who asked for something from an ungodly judge in her town. He refused at first, but she was so persistent that he eventually gave in. Jesus said that if even an ungodly judge will give justice to one who keeps asking, then God will certainly answer those who ask in faith.

Waiting is hard. But by relying on God’s promises and staying in prayer, we can turn frustration into faith. Don’t give up! Wait on the Lord, and He will answer you.

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