When You've Been Waiting on God a Long Time

Maybe you've been waiting on God a long time. You've prayed about the same thing for months, maybe for years, and you're tired. This morning we'll hear from a psalm about waiting through a long night. Let's bring this to God together.

In Psalm one thirty, verses five and six, a man who's been crying out to God for mercy says this.

I wait for the Lord; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope. My soul waits for the Lord more than watchmen wait for the morning—more than watchmen wait for the morning.

Psalm 130:5-6

Psalm one thirty is a song of ascents, most likely sung on the way up to Jerusalem. This one starts in the depths. Before the writer says a word about waiting, he talks about sin. He admits that if the Lord kept a record of every wrong, nobody could stand. Then he says there's forgiveness with God.

That's where his waiting starts. He waits for the Lord Himself, and he hopes in what God has said.

In the ancient world, a watchman stood on the city wall all night. The hours were cold and slow. He couldn't make the sun come up any sooner. He didn't know exactly when the first light would show. He never wondered whether it would. Morning always came. The psalmist says his soul waits for the Lord more than that. And he says it twice, the way you might when you've been counting the hours.

Many of us know that kind of night. Maybe you've prayed for your son every morning for years, and he still won't pick up when you call. Maybe the job search has gone on so long you've stopped mentioning it at church. You still pray. But the words come out tired, and some mornings you wonder if anyone's listening.

In the next verse he speaks to all of God's people.

O Israel, put your hope in the Lord, for with the Lord is loving devotion, and with Him is redemption in abundance.

Psalm 130:7

Nothing here promises a particular answer by a particular day. The psalm points to the Lord Himself, to His steady love and His redemption. It ends by promising that He'll redeem Israel from all iniquity. God kept that promise in Jesus. The Father sent His Son, and Jesus died for our sins and rose again. In Him that redemption has come, and one day it'll be complete.

The prophet Micah waited through hard times too. In his day judges took bribes, and even families turned on each other. Then he said this.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

Paul wrote to the church in Rome about a much bigger wait. The whole creation groans, he says, waiting for the day God sets it free. We wait for that day too.

For in this hope we were saved; but hope that is seen is no hope at all. Who hopes for what he can already see? But if we hope for what we do not yet see, we wait for it patiently.

Romans 8:24-25

God may answer your prayer soon, or in a way you didn't expect. Some things will wait for that last morning, when Jesus comes again and makes everything new. His welcome doesn't depend on how well you wait. A watchman's heavy eyes don't make the sun rise any later. On the mornings your prayer is only a sigh, you still belong to Him, because of what Jesus has done.

Let's pray. You can pray these words with me, out loud or in your heart.

Father, I come to You this morning through Jesus. He died for my sins and rose again, and because of Him I'm welcome here. I don't have to pray well to be heard. By Your Spirit, help me pray, even on a morning when I'm tired of praying.

You're the Lord who hears from the depths. With You there's steady love, and redemption in abundance. You've never broken a promise, and You kept the greatest one when You sent Your Son. You've carried Your people through long nights before. You never sleep, and You see this whole night more clearly than I do. You made the morning, and You've never once failed to bring it.

But I'm tired, Father. You know what I've been asking You for, and how long I've been asking.

I've prayed about the same thing so often that the words feel worn out. Some mornings I barely expect an answer. I've tried to set the timetable myself, as if You owed me a reply by a certain day. I've let this one request crowd out the good things You've already given me. Sometimes I've doubted Your heart toward me. I bring all of that to You, and I lean on what the psalmist knew.

If You, O Lord, kept track of iniquities, then who, O Lord, could stand? But with You there is forgiveness, so that You may be feared.

Psalm 130:3-4

Thank You for forgiving me in Jesus. My impatience doesn't cancel Your love.

Hear my voice, Lord. I'm still asking. If it's Your will, please answer this prayer. And while I wait, keep my heart soft toward You. Guard me from bitterness, and from the slow kind of giving up that stops asking at all. Give me enough hope for today. Thank You that Your Spirit intercedes for me when I don't have the words.

I don't know the hour, and I don't know what Your answer will look like. Still, I know You, and You know me. So I say it with Micah.

But as for me, I will look to the Lord; I will wait for the God of my salvation. My God will hear me.

Micah 7:7

I give You the timing, and I leave the answer with You. If You say yes, I'll thank You. If You say wait, keep me close while I wait. If Your answer is different from what I've asked, help me trust that You're still good. Keep my hope in the redemption You've promised.

I pray for others who are waiting this morning. For parents praying for a child who's wandered, and for anyone waiting on a diagnosis or a phone call that hasn't come. Be near to believers in places where following Jesus costs them dearly. Some have waited years for justice. Hold them through the night, and let them know You hear them. And for everyone praying these words with me, give them hope in Your word.

Keep me watching for You as the hours go by. When I check my phone again and nothing's changed, remind me who I'm waiting for. Don't let the waiting swallow the whole day. Help me love the people in front of me and do the work You've given me. If I lose heart along the way, meet me there.

I wait for the Lord; my soul does wait, and in His word I put my hope.

Psalm 130:5

And tonight, if nothing has changed, let me lie down knowing You've heard me.

In Jesus' name, amen.

Take a moment of quiet now, and bring Him whatever's in front of you today.

Hear this blessing from Paul's letter to the Romans.

Now may the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace as you believe in Him, so that you may overflow with hope by the power of the Holy Spirit.

Romans 15:13