There are prayers I have prayed so many times, I could say them without thinking. The words feel familiar now, like a path my heart has walked again and again. Some have been whispered through tears. Some have been spoken boldly in faith. Others have been quieter, more hesitant, wondering if God is listening… or if He has already said no.
And still, I find myself waiting.
Waiting is one of the hardest parts of faith. Not because we doubt that God is able, but because we don’t always understand His timing. We know He can. We believe He cares. But when the answer doesn’t come, or doesn’t come the way we hoped, questions begin to rise.
God, do You see me?
Do You hear me?
Are You still working… even here?
In Psalm 13:1–2, David cries out, “How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?” His words are honest and unfiltered, yet they are still directed toward God. He didn’t walk away in his waiting. He stayed, even in the tension.
Recently, I started reading The Power of Short Prayers by Jentezen Franklin, and something he shared stayed with me.
He pointed to Luke 5:12–13, where a man with leprosy said to Jesus, “Lord, if You are willing, You can make me clean.” And Jesus answered, “I am willing… be clean.”
The man didn’t doubt Jesus’ ability. He questioned His willingness.
That felt familiar.
Because if I’m honest, I’ve prayed the same way. Not doubting that God can, but wondering if He will. I’ve said, “Lord, I know You can… help my unbelief.” But it wasn’t really unbelief. It was me wrestling with His will.
Maybe you’ve felt that too.
We believe God is able. But when it becomes personal, we quietly wonder, Will He do it for me?
What I am learning is this: Jesus is willing.
He is not distant or indifferent. The same Jesus who touched the leper is the same today (Hebrews 13:8). His heart toward us is good and compassionate.
But Scripture also reminds us that His will doesn’t always look like the answer we expect.
Paul prayed for relief and received something different. “My grace is sufficient for you, for my power is made perfect in weakness” (2 Corinthians 12:9). That wasn’t a lack of willingness. It was a different kind of answer.
So we hold onto both truths:
God is able.
God is willing.
And God is sovereign.
Sometimes His willingness looks like immediate healing.
Sometimes it looks like grace to endure.
Sometimes it looks like strength in the waiting.
But His heart never changes.
And that truth steadies us.
Because waiting does not mean God is absent.
Isaiah 55:8–9 reminds us that His ways are higher than ours. He sees what we cannot. And while that doesn’t always make waiting easier, it makes it meaningful.
Because waiting with God is never wasted.
Romans 8:25 says, “If we hope for what we do not yet have, we wait for it patiently.” This kind of waiting is not passive. It’s active trust.
Sometimes the waiting is where God does His deepest work.
He refines our faith.
He strengthens our trust.
He draws us closer to Him.
I think about Hannah in 1 Samuel 1. Year after year, she prayed and poured her heart out before the Lord. She didn’t stop going to Him. And when her prayer was finally answered, it revealed not just God’s faithfulness, but the depth of their relationship.
There is something sacred about that kind of waiting.
Still, it can feel heavy.
There are days when faith feels strong, and days when the silence feels loud. Days when you wonder if anything is changing at all.
In those moments, I come back to Lamentations 3:25–26: “The Lord is good to those whose hope is in Him… it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord.”
God is good in the waiting.
God is near in the silence.
God is faithful, even now.
Waiting is not a sign that He has forgotten you. Often, it means He is doing something deeper than you can see.
Sometimes He is preparing the answer.
Sometimes He is preparing you.
There are prayers I’m still waiting on. Some for months, others for years. But I am learning to anchor myself in what I know is true:
God hears me.
“This is the confidence we have… that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us” (1 John 5:14).
So I keep praying.
I keep trusting.
I keep showing up, even in the waiting.
And now my prayers sound a little different:
Lord, I know You are able.
I know You are good.
I trust Your heart, even as I trust Your plan.
Application
What prayers are you still waiting on?
Take time this week to bring them back to God. Be honest with Him. Lay down your questions, your hopes, and even your uncertainties.
Instead of focusing only on the answer, ask Him to strengthen your trust in the waiting. Ask Him to help you rest in His character, not just His response.
Waiting with God is not empty. He is present in every moment of it.
Prayer
Lord,
You know every prayer I’ve prayed and every one I’m still waiting on. You see my heart, my questions, and my hope.
Help me to trust You in the waiting. When the silence feels heavy, remind me that You are near. When I feel uncertain, remind me that You are good.
Strengthen my faith, not just for answers, but for Your presence. Teach me to rest in Your timing and trust Your will, even when I don’t understand it.
And while I wait, draw me closer to You.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.
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