Listening Patiently
Notes
Transcript
Have you ever experienced a time when God seemed silent? You pray, and pray, only to feel like heaven was quiet? You keep seeking, fasting, and knocking — yet there’s no answer. You wonder if God still sees you, still hears you, or still cares. It’s one of the hardest experiences in a believer’s life: when God seems silent.
But here’s the truth — silence from God is not absence from God. His quietness does not mean He has forgotten you. Often, God’s silence is His way of working deeply in your spirit, building your faith, and aligning you with His perfect timing.
When you call upon God and there is no immediate reply, the enemy whispers, “Maybe God doesn’t care.” But that’s a lie. God’s silence never means rejection; it often means preparation.
Think of Lazarus in John 11. Jesus heard that His friend was sick, yet He stayed where He was for two more days. To Mary and Martha, that delay felt like silence — but Jesus knew what He was doing. His timing would reveal a greater glory.
“When He heard that Lazarus was sick, He stayed two more days in the place where He was.” John 11:6 (NKJV)
When you are in your own “two more days,” remember that silence might be the soil where your miracle is being formed.
We can never forget that our time does not always align with Gods timing. He may be waiting for either our time to come, or His time to come within us.
Abraham: Waiting for a Promised Son
Abraham, the father of faith, is perhaps one of the most well-known examples of waiting on God.
When God promised Abraham that he would be the father of many nations, Abraham had no children, and both he and his wife Sarah were well past childbearing age.
Despite this, Abraham believed God’s promise. However, the fulfillment didn’t come immediately—Abraham waited 25 years for the birth of his promised son, Isaac.
During this long period, Abraham faced moments of doubt and impatience. At one point, he and Sarah tried to fulfill the promise in their own way by having a child through Sarah’s maidservant, Hagar.
Yet, God reaffirmed that His promise would come through Sarah. Finally, at the age of 100, Abraham saw the birth of Isaac, the child through whom God would establish his covenant.
Abraham’s story teaches us that God’s timing is perfect, even when it seems delayed.
Patience is essential in waiting for God’s promises, and trying to take matters into our own hands can lead to unnecessary complications. Trusting God during the waiting period deepens our faith and dependence on Him.
Joseph: From Prison to Power
Joseph’s story is a testament to patient endurance through extreme adversity. As a young man, Joseph had dreams that foretold his rise to power.
However, instead of immediate success, Joseph faced betrayal by his brothers, being sold into slavery, and wrongful imprisonment.
Despite these setbacks, Joseph remained faithful to God and continued to trust in His plan. After years of hardship, God elevated Joseph to a position of great authority in Egypt, where he became second only to Pharaoh.
Joseph’s patience paid off as he was eventually able to save his family and many others from a devastating famine.
Joseph’s life shows us that even when circumstances seem hopeless, God is still working behind the scenes.
The wait may be long, and the trials may be difficult, but God uses these periods to prepare us for the blessings and responsibilities that lie ahead.
Patience and faith in God’s plan can turn even the darkest seasons into a path of redemption and success.
Moses: Waiting in the Wilderness
Moses, the great leader who delivered Israel from slavery, also experienced long periods of waiting.
After fleeing Egypt as a young man, Moses spent 40 years in the wilderness of Midian as a shepherd. During this time, he must have wondered if his life had any greater purpose.
When God finally called Moses to lead the Israelites out of Egypt, it was after decades of living in obscurity.
Later, after the exodus, Moses led the Israelites through the desert for another 40 years, waiting for the time when they could enter the Promised Land.
Though Moses himself didn’t live to see the fulfillment of this promise, his patience and obedience were instrumental in leading the people of Israel toward their destiny.
Moses’ story reminds us that God’s timing often includes long periods of preparation. The waiting can feel endless, but God uses these times to refine us and prepare us for the work He has for us.
Sometimes, the fulfillment of God’s promises may come after much waiting, but His plan is always worth the wait.
David: Anointed but Not Yet King
David was anointed as the future king of Israel while still a young shepherd boy. However, it took many years before David actually took the throne.
During this time, David faced numerous trials, including being pursued by King Saul, who was determined to kill him.
Instead of taking matters into his own hands, David waited for God’s timing, even when he had opportunities to eliminate Saul and claim the throne.
David’s patience and refusal to act outside of God’s will demonstrated his deep trust in God’s timing. When the time finally came, David became a great king and a man after God’s own heart.
David’s story teaches us that waiting on God’s timing requires humility and restraint.
Even when we have the opportunity to rush ahead, we must trust that God’s timing is better than our own. Waiting with integrity, even in the face of temptation, leads to blessings beyond what we could imagine.
Hannah: Waiting for a Child
Hannah’s story is one of intense longing and patient faith. For many years, Hannah was unable to have children, and this caused her great distress.
Despite the emotional pain and societal pressure, Hannah turned to God in prayer, asking Him for a son. She waited patiently and continued to trust God even when her prayers seemed unanswered.
Finally, after years of waiting, God blessed Hannah with a son, Samuel, who would go on to become one of Israel’s greatest prophets.
Hannah’s faith and patience were rewarded, and she dedicated Samuel to the Lord as a sign of her gratitude.
Hannah’s story demonstrates the power of persistent, patient prayer. When we bring our deepest desires to God and wait on His timing, He is faithful to answer. Hannah’s experience shows us that even in our most painful waiting, God is listening and working on our behalf.
Hannah: Waiting for a Child
Hannah’s story is one of intense longing and patient faith. For many years, Hannah was unable to have children, and this caused her great distress.
Despite the emotional pain and societal pressure, Hannah turned to God in prayer, asking Him for a son. She waited patiently and continued to trust God even when her prayers seemed unanswered.
Finally, after years of waiting, God blessed Hannah with a son, Samuel, who would go on to become one of Israel’s greatest prophets.
Hannah’s faith and patience were rewarded, and she dedicated Samuel to the Lord as a sign of her gratitude.
Hannah’s story demonstrates the power of persistent, patient prayer. When we bring our deepest desires to God and wait on His timing, He is faithful to answer. Hannah’s experience shows us that even in our most painful waiting, God is listening and working on our behalf.
Job: Enduring Suffering and Waiting for Restoration
Job’s story is one of the most profound examples of waiting in the face of suffering. Job was a wealthy man who lost everything—his health, his wealth, and his family.
Despite his intense suffering, Job refused to curse God. He questioned, mourned, and wrestled with his pain, but he ultimately held on to his faith.
After a long period of suffering and waiting, God restored Job’s fortunes, giving him twice as much as he had before.
Job’s patience and perseverance in the face of overwhelming hardship serve as an example for all who endure trials.
Job’s story teaches us that waiting in suffering is never easy, but it can lead to deeper faith and a greater understanding of God’s goodness. Sometimes, the waiting is painful, but God’s restoration is always more than we could ask for.
The book of Job is an honest portrayal of God allowing a good man to suffer. The test of Job’s faith, allowed by God in response to a challenge from Satan, revealed God’s love for His creation. Believing that God is good, even when we are facing things in our life that makes us thing differently, can be used to build our faith and our trust in God.
1 There was a man in the land of Uz whose name was Job, and that man was blameless and upright, one who feared God and turned away from evil.
What else could Job have done? God saw him as blameless, nothing could be held against him and his faith to God. He was upright - everything he did was pleasing to God. He feared God, having a respect for who God is and what He had done for him and his family. And he turned away from evil. When evil thoughts or actions entered Job’s mind, he didn’t follow through.
He even worried about his own family and their relationship with God, making burnt offering sacrifices for them, just in case “they might have sinned and cursed God in their hearts”.
He was the dad of all earthly dads, the man of all earthly men, the husband of all earthly husbands - there wasn’t anyone else like Job. But God allowed Satan to tempt Job, even going so far as to say he could do anything except harm Job. As many of us know, Job lost everything. Animals, houses, buildings, even his own family. But notice how Job is described:
22 In all this Job did not sin or charge God with wrong.
After losing all he had, and Job not turning his back on God, Satan was then allowed to attack Job personally with anything he wanted, except he could not take his life. He was covered with boils, sores, and he was doing whatever was necessary to make himself quit itching and hurting. By this time, even Job’s wife was distraught.
9 Then his wife said to him, “Do you still hold fast your integrity? Curse God and die.”
10 But he said to her, “You speak as one of the foolish women would speak. Shall we receive good from God, and shall we not receive evil?” In all this Job did not sin with his lips.
Even Job’s friends accused him of sinning against God, or doing something that God was punishing him for, but Job had done nothing against God, God was allowing Satan to test Job, his faith, and his integrity.
It doesn’t mean Job didn’t have questions about God, and why He would allow this to happen.
8 “Oh that I might have my request, and that God would fulfill my hope,
He even felt hopeless, but he still knew he had hope in God.
25 For I know that my Redeemer lives, and at the last he will stand upon the earth.
But even though he had hop IN God, he still wanted to know why God was silent, why He allowed all these evil things to happen to him, even though he was good - even in the eyes of God. Job STILL questioned God’s silence and what he saw as inaction.
1 Then Job answered and said:
2 “Today also my complaint is bitter; my hand is heavy on account of my groaning.
3 Oh, that I knew where I might find him, that I might come even to his seat!
4 I would lay my case before him and fill my mouth with arguments.
5 I would know what he would answer me and understand what he would say to me.
6 Would he contend with me in the greatness of his power? No; he would pay attention to me.
But even after all this loss, after all the hurt and pain, after all the uncertainty, Job’s faith strengthened.
1 And Job again took up his discourse, and said:
2 “As God lives, who has taken away my right, and the Almighty, who has made my soul bitter,
3 as long as my breath is in me, and the spirit of God is in my nostrils,
4 my lips will not speak falsehood, and my tongue will not utter deceit.
5 Far be it from me to say that you are right; till I die I will not put away my integrity from me.
6 I hold fast my righteousness and will not let it go; my heart does not reproach me for any of my days.
Because of Job’s faith, God restored everything to him.
Finally, after all the heartache and loss, but also confession and repentance, God answers Job’s prayers.
10 And the Lord restored the fortunes of Job, when he had prayed for his friends. And the Lord gave Job twice as much as he had before.
11 Then came to him all his brothers and sisters and all who had known him before, and ate bread with him in his house. And they showed him sympathy and comforted him for all the evil that the Lord had brought upon him. And each of them gave him a piece of money and a ring of gold.
12 And the Lord blessed the latter days of Job more than his beginning. And he had 14,000 sheep, 6,000 camels, 1,000 yoke of oxen, and 1,000 female donkeys.
13 He had also seven sons and three daughters.
16 And after this Job lived 140 years, and saw his sons, and his sons’ sons, four generations.
17 And Job died, an old man, and full of days.
Conclusion
Conclusion
Throughout the Bible, we see examples of people who waited patiently for God’s promises. Even the good ones, who had no fault with God found a way to complain, withdraw, and blame God when nothing seemed to be going right. It is easy to lose faith, and question God when we are waiting on Him to fulfill our requests on Him timeframe. It’s hard, but we have to have patience.
Patience is not just a passive activity—it is an active demonstration of faith. As we wait on God, we can be assured that He is working all things together for our good, and His plans for us are worth the wait.
Waiting can be difficult, but it often brings growth, transformation, and blessings beyond what we can imagine.
Just as these Bible characters waited patiently, we too can trust that God’s timing is perfect, and His promises will be fulfilled.
