Tired of Waiting

By Tracie Miles

"Isaac was sixty years old when Rebekah gave birth to them." Genesis 25:26b (NIV)

Do you ever get tired of waiting on God to answer your prayers? I do.

I get tired of saying the same old prayer day after day, month after month, year after year. Tired of telling God about the same old problems still going on. Tired of hearing myself pray about the same old issues, leading me to wonder if God is as tired of hearing my prayer requests as I am of praying them.
Recently I bowed my head and admitted to God that I was simply tired of praying and waiting.
In a heavy state of emotional exhaustion, I turned to my Bible. I hoped a few verses would jump straight into my heart and give me patience. That day I read about when Isaac's wife Rebekah gave birth to twin sons. One sentence in particular caught my eye and God used it to speak hope into my soul.

Genesis 25:26 tells us that Isaac was sixty years old when his twins were born; a simple Bible fact, yet profoundly meaningful to me on that specific day.
You see, Isaac had waited patiently for the Lord to provide the perfect wife. He was forty years old when he married Rebekah. That means Isaac waited twenty years for Rebekah to bear children!

He was a man of great patience who waited on God. And eventually his patient faith was rewarded.
In Genesis 25:21a we see that "Isaac pleaded with the Lord on behalf of his wife, because she was unable to have children." (NLT) He earnestly and strongly prayed about their desires to have kids. He did not half-heartedly ask God for a son, he pleaded! He begged. He poured his heart out.
He trusted that God would provide and continued to pray the same desperate prayer for a son, day after day, month after month, year after year.

Isaac never gave up hope that his Lord could make the impossible, possible. And after twenty years, God gave him a son.

Are you tired of the wait? Tired of pleading with God just like Isaac? It may take twenty years for God to answer, or it may only take twenty minutes. But today, let's find comfort in remembering Isaac's patient faith and take hope in believing that God is not tired of hearing our prayers.

Dear Lord, please help me have patience and faith while I wait to hear from You. Help me live in excited anticipation for the day when I will see how You answer my prayers. In Jesus' Name, Amen.

Related Resources:
Do You Know Jesus?

Visit Tracie's blog for more encouragement to help strengthen your faith in the waiting times and to sign up for her FREE 10-Day Stress Detox.

Stressed-Less Living: Finding God's Peace In Your Chaotic World by Tracie Miles

Reflect and Respond:
Consider prayers that have not been answered, but which you have not prayed about lately. Ask God to give you a renewed hope about those desires and faithfully wait on His timing.
Have you stopped praying about something because you've grown tired of waiting on God?

Power Verses:
Psalm 27:14, "Wait for the LORD; be strong and take heart and wait for the LORD." (NIV)

Isaiah 40:31, "But they that wait upon the LORD shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; and they shall walk, and not faint." (KJV)

Tracie Miles

Tracie Miles is a member of the national speaker team with Proverbs 31 Ministries and enjoys speaking to women’s groups at keynote events and weekend retreats across the country.  Her passion is to lead women closer to the heart of God, help them embrace their value and purpose in Him, and inspire them to live intentionally for Christ.

Tracie is the author of Stressed-Less Living: Finding God’s Peace In Your Chaotic World, recently released in October 2012. She is a contributing writer for the Proverbs 31 Encouragement For Today Devotions, Everyday Life, and has been featured several times in the P31 Woman magazine. Tracie is also the author ofReinventing Your Rainbow, an inspirational book for women focused on finding forgiveness, peace, and joy, while discovering the purpose God created them to fulfill. 

Tracie has been married to her husband, Michael, for over 22 years.  They have three children and live in Charlotte, NC.  Tracie graduated from the University of North Carolina at Charlotte and worked in the corporate world for 15 years until God placed a call on her heart to focus on Christian speaking and writing.  In addition to being a national Proverbs 31 speaker, Tracie is also a Corporate Trainer in the areas of stress management, work/life balance, team building and leadership.

For more information about Tracie, visit her blog at www.traciemiles.com, and connect with her onFacebook and Twitter.  Also check out her new book website, www.stressedlessliving.com, for free tips and resources about managing stress, God’s way.