7 Ways to Wait Patiently for God to Answer

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1. Confess Our Sins

Scripture emphasizes a connection between confessing our sins and answered prayer, “But your iniquities have separated you from your God; your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear” (Isaiah 59:2). 

Is it possible God is waiting on us before He moves; patiently waiting for us to grow and mature in our faith? 

If so, James 1:2-4 encourages, “Consider it pure joy, my brothers and sisters, whenever you face trials of many kinds, because you know that the testing of your faith produces perseverance. Let perseverance finish its work so that you may be mature and complete, not lacking anything.”

As James 5:16, explains, “Therefore confess your sins to each other and pray for each other so that you may be healed. The prayer of a righteous person is powerful and effective.”

Likewise, 1 John 1:9, describes how, “If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just and will forgive us our sins and purify us from all unrighteousness.”

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2. Draw Near to God

In waiting patiently for God to answer, we can draw near to Him, and that might be what He is waiting for us to do. As Psalm 145:18 explains, “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth.”

As James 4:8 urges, “Come near to God and He will come near to you. Wash your hands, you sinners, and purify your hearts, you double-minded.”

Scripture seems to indicate that drawing near to God when making our requests is effective, as seen in the life of Abraham. Genesis 18:23 describes how, in asking God to spare Lot’s life before the destruction of Sodom, Abraham drew near to God with his request. “And Abraham came near and said, “Would You also destroy the righteous with the wicked?”

Abraham drew near to God boldly, but with humility, teaching us how we can, too. As Genesis 18:27 describes, “Then Abraham spoke up again: ‘Now that I have been so bold as to speak to the Lord, though I am nothing but dust and ashes.”

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3. Pray for Others’ Needs

Investing our time praying for others encourages us and helps to keep us motivated to wait patiently and continue praying for our own concerns and needs, especially so, as we see God answering our prayers on their behalf. 

It’s also biblical for us to consider others and helps to keep our hearts tender. In 1 Thessalonians 5:25, Paul asks, “Brothers and sisters, pray for us.”

As well, Ephesians 6:18 urges, “And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the Lord’s people.”

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4. Don’t Give Up

In Luke 18:1, Jesus encouraged His disciples to always pray and not give up, “Then Jesus told His disciples a parable to show them that they should always pray and not give up.”

Winston Churchill is also known for telling people to never give up, as he urged people on October 29, 1941, during World War II. As his words ring true in fighting evil, so too, when it comes to prayer: “This is the lesson: never give in, never give in, never, never, never, never in nothing, great or small, large or petty—never give in except to convictions of honor and good sense. Never yield to force; never yield to the apparently overwhelming might of the enemy.”

As Christians, we want to keep in mind that the devil does whatever he can to discourage us, lying to us about God to us, telling us He doesn’t care, doesn’t love us and doesn’t want to answer our prayers, so that we’ll give up and stop believing.  

But the truth is that God hears and answers our prayers. 1 John 5:15 urges us to hold on: “And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him.”

Revelation 5:8 assures us that our prayers aren’t falling on deaf ears, or fading away into nothingness, but are treasured, kept in gold bowls, at work long after they are spoken, and preserved by God. “And when He had taken it, the four living creatures and the twenty-four elders fell down before the Lamb. Each one had a harp and they were holding golden bowls full of incense, which are the prayers of God’s people.”

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5. Stand Firm

Whether we know it or not, there is a spiritual battle taking place, like recorded in the book of Daniel. Through his story we see how the enemy interferes with our prayers being answered, a spiritual battle taking place in heavenly realms.

With delayed answers to prayer, we want to remember what Ephesians 6:12 explains, “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.”

As the Apostle Paul, in 1 Corinthians 16:13 urges, “Be on your guard; stand firm in the faith; be courageous; be strong.”

Daniel knew how to stand firm and wait patiently during spiritual warfare by fasting, praying, and mourning until there was a breakthrough. As Daniel 9:3 describes, “So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with Him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes.”

As Daniel’s story goes, he had a troubling vision that led him to some serious praying, yet the answer wasn’t coming. Not understanding why, God sent Gabriel to give Daniel insight and understanding (Daniel 9:22), saying, “As soon as you began to pray, a word went out, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the word and understand the vision” (Daniel 9:23).

Like Daniel, we can commit to what Colossians 4:2 encourages: “Devote yourselves to prayer, being watchful and thankful.”

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6. Hold on to Hope

Like Daniel, during times of waiting, we want to patiently keep holding on to hope, believing God is sending us an answer. It’s too easy to become discouraged and abandon our prayers. When we do, we have no idea if the answer is just around the corner.

As with Daniel, he had to choose to hold on, because his waiting continues with three weeks of mourning (Daniel 10:2-3). But then came another divine encounter. “I looked up and there before me was a man dressed in linen, with a belt of fine gold from Uphaz around his waist. His body was like topaz, His face like lightning, His eyes like flaming torches, His arms and legs like the gleam of burnished bronze, and His voice like the sound of a multitude” (Daniel 10:5-6).

“He said, ‘Daniel, you who are highly esteemed, consider carefully the words I am about to speak to you, and stand up, for I have now been sent to you.’ And when He said this to me, I stood up trembling. Then he continued, ‘Do not be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day that you set your mind to gain understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to them.  But the prince of the Persian kingdom resisted me twenty-one days. Then Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, because I was detained there with the king of Persia. Now I have come to explain to you what will happen to your people in the future, for the vision concerns a time yet to come.’” (Daniel 10:12-14).

Although Daniel experienced great sorrow in his praying and waiting, he held onto hope. As Psalm 126:5 reminds us, “Those who sow with tears will reap with songs of joy.”

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7. Ask for the Impossible

In praying, are we really believing God for answers or are we limiting our prayers to things we think could happen based on our own understanding and logical thinking? 

Are we taking risks, stepping out in faith and praying for things we have no idea how God could possibly answer, patiently praying and believing for situations and things to happen that seem impossible to us?

Years ago, upon discovering a dear friend’s daughter and son-in-law were separating, God put it on our family’s hearts to pray a simple prayer on their behalf. “Dear God, please don’t let them divorce.”

Not that we discussed how to pray or what to say; it just came out of our mouths in a passionate, heartfelt way and continued to be our prayer for over a decade. 

For a few years while our friend was still living, we heard periodical updates that although separated, they were still lawfully married. Even though it didn’t sound very promising, we kept praying our simple prayer for more than a decade, uninformed most of the time concerning the status of their marriage. Still, as 1 Thessalonians 5:17 urges, we continued to “Pray continually.”

Over a decade later, an online interview of our friend’s son-in-law, revealed what had taken place all those years we had been praying. After 12 years of separation, they began dating again and are now reunited as a couple, as a family, spared from divorce. 

So the question becomes, would they still be married, if we hadn’t kept praying? Although it’s a question we can’t answer for sure, waiting on God is well worth the wait.

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