5 Powerful Things That Happen When You Wait on God

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The other day I prayed that God would give me patience.

And almost immediately, I realized how ridiculous that prayer actually was.

I had been frustrated with my kids over something small—so small that I can’t even remember what it was now.

But as I prayed, the Lord reminded me of something important:

Patience isn’t something God simply hands us.

It’s something He grows in us.

Patience is a fruit of the Spirit. Like a muscle, it must be exercised and developed over time.

And that thought came rushing back to me as I read Psalm 40:1:

“I waited patiently for the Lord; and He inclined to me, and heard my cry.”

Interestingly, the words “waited” and “patiently” come from the same Hebrew root word and carry the idea of lingering.

When was the last time you lingered in God’s presence?

Not just prayed.

Not just read a chapter.

Not just checked your quiet time off your list.

But lingered.

Stayed longer than necessary because you simply enjoyed being with Him.

5 Powerful Things That Happen When You Wait on God

Dear sisters, for most of us, our lives are so busy. We get up early and run through our day, only to fall into bed late at night, dreading our alarm the next morning.

I truly believe that if you’re reading this right now, you regularly spend time with God.

But spending time with God and lingering in His presence are often not the same thing. I will readily admit that there have been times when I’ve been praying and reading, and my mind’s been distracted.

My thoughts are wandering to the long list of things I have to get done, and I’m rushing through to get started on my day.

As if anything else in my day is more important than lingering in God’s presence.

Lingering gives a sense of not wanting to leave; of enjoying someone’s presence so much, everything else seems much less important.

As I studied Psalm 40, I noticed something remarkable.

David didn’t merely survive while he waited on God.

He was transformed by the waiting.

In fact, Psalm 40 reveals five powerful things that happen when we linger in God’s presence.

When David waited on God—when he lingered in His presence—five things happened that completely changed his life.

1. And He inclined to me, and heard my cry.

As David lingered in God’s presence, something changed—not in God, but in David.

Now, that may seem like poor theology to you, because we know that God’s eyes are ever on the righteous. But there is something about lingering in God’s presence that opens the way for answered prayers.

And I wholeheartedly believe that it has more to do with us than with God.

We know that God many times will answer prayers for those whom we think least deserve it.

Lingering in God’s presence humbles us, aligns us with God’s heart, and helps us begin praying prayers that reflect His desires.

Over time, His desires become our desires.

And we know that when we pray according to His will, He answers us. That’s what His Word promises.

2. He also brought me up out of a horrible pit, out of the miry clay, and set my feet upon a rock, and established my steps. Psalm 40:2

While lingering in God’s presence, God lifted him up out of a “horrible pit”.

Sometimes the pit isn’t a circumstance.

Sometimes it’s a season of spiritual defeat.

I don’t know about you, but there was a time in my 20’s when I was in a horrible pit. I was far from God, and I knew it. I wanted to repent, but I couldn’t feel sorry for my sins.

I knew very well that the next day I’d just go out and do the same things I had been doing.

It was a horrible place to be. I felt shame and guilt, and I wanted to feel close to God again, but the pull of sin was stronger than those other emotions.

But there came a time – praise the Lord! – when I lingered in God’s presence, and I felt Him literally lift me out of that horrible pit….

Out of the miry clay that was keeping me sucked into that horrible pit and wouldn’t let me go….

And he set me upon the Rock of Ages! On Christ, my Foundation!

He made my steps stable and established, focused and directed, so that each day as I walked in my new life, I was becoming more and more like Christ!

3. He has put a new song in my mouth— praise to our God; many will see it and fear, and will trust in the Lord. Psalm 40:3

This verse made me pause for a moment, because…well, you can’t see a song.

The more I thought about it, though, the more I realized that perhaps what people see isn’t the song, but what the song does to us.

Music is powerful because it shapes what we think, feel, and focus on.

True worshipful music not only is a sweet sacrifice to God, but it changes us.

It captures our attention and turns our focus upward toward God.

When we worship God – truly worship God – it shows on our face! And many people will see it, and fear and will trust in the Lord…

4. Blessed is that man who makes the Lord his trust, and does not respect the proud, nor such as turn aside to lies.

God wants us to live the blessed life!

We were created to live blessed and joyful in Him. But in order to live that life He created us to live, we must learn to make Him our trust alone.

It is so easy to put our trust in man…fallen man.

It is so easy to put our ultimate trust in people, systems, and human wisdom.

But when we choose not to respect the proud and those who turn to lies, but choose to make God alone our trust, we will live the blessed life!

5. Many, O Lord my God, are Your wonderful works which You have done; and Your thoughts toward us cannot be recounted to You in order; if I would declare and speak of them, they are more than can be numbered. Psalm 40:5

As we linger in God’s presence, our awareness of His deep love and acceptance for us grows exponentially.

My dear sister, God doesn’t love you because you’re so faithful to go to church every Sunday, because you give your tithe, or serve tirelessly in the church.

He doesn’t love you because you’ve read the Bible literally every day this whole year, and haven’t missed a day.

He doesn’t love you because you spend a whole hour in prayer and faithfully write down every prayer request people send.

He loves you because He loves you.

Period.

Nothing you do can make Him love you more, and nothing you’ve done can make Him love you less.

You can’t earn His love, you don’t deserve it, but He gives it anyway.

And there is profound freedom that comes when we realize that we can attend church faithfully, read our Bibles consistently, spend ample time in prayer, give our tithes and offerings, and serve in the church, all because we just love God so much.

No other agenda.

Dear sister, God doesn’t think negative thoughts about you.

God isn’t sitting in heaven criticizing you, shaking His head at you, and mumbling about you under His breath.

His thoughts about you are more numerous than you could ever count — and they are all full of love….deep, powerful, consuming love.

And when we begin to linger in His presence regularly, we begin to know that. Really, really know that.

My dear sister, this week I want to encourage you to do more than simply spend time with God.

✔️ Linger.

✔️ Stay a little longer.

✔️ Put aside the to-do list for a few moments.

✔️ Sit quietly in His presence.

✔️ Let Him remind you who He is and how deeply He loves you.

Because when we learn to linger with God, we discover that waiting is never wasted.

It is often where God does His deepest work in our hearts.