Learning to Wait

For since the world began, no ear has heard and no eye has seen a God like you, who works for those who wait for him! – Isaiah 64:4

“Jesus said, ‘When you pray, believe.’ But what happens when we pray and believe and there is no answer or things actually get worse? That’s the testing of our faith. God uses those delays to help us grow in our faith. He does it so that we can come to the precious biblical truth that God works for those who wait for him. The Lord wants us to know enough about him and about his love and faithfulness that we will not only believe, but keep on believing and trusting him. The hardest part of faith is waiting, and we may be tempted to take matters into our own hands; but many lives have been ruined by going to a plan B instead of waiting for God’s supply. God’s ways are not our ways, the Bible says. He will help us, but it will be according to his timetable. We don’t have to get agitated and anxious. God is going to meet our needs and reveal his plan for our lives in his own time. The Bible says that God gives supernatural strength and endurance to those who wait in faith (Isaiah 40:31). Blessed are those who wait for the Lord.” – Pastor Cymbala

  1. Name a time in your life when you became discouraged because you had to wait for an answer to your prayers. How does God use these delays in our lives?
  2. What does the Bible say that God does on behalf of those who wait for him?
  3. How can having a plan B work against us?
  4. What do you think about God’s timing? Why do you think it is different from ours?
  5. What is another promise from Scripture for those who wait in faith?