Have you ever had to wait a long time for God to answer one of your prayers? I have. And that kind of waiting can be truly hard.
When God delays in answering our prayers, we’re often tempted to make wrong assumptions about His motives. “God doesn’t hear,” we might think. “…or He just doesn’t care.” And yet, in John 11, God reveals the true motive behind His delays.
In this chapter, Jesus’ dear friend Lazarus had become ill and the man’s sisters (Mary and Martha) sent word to Jesus. But in verses 5-7, we read Jesus’ surprising response: “Now Jesus loved Martha, and her sister, and Lazarus. When therefore he heard that he was sick, he stayed two days in the place where he was. Then after this he said to the disciples, ‘Let’s go into Judea again.’” John 11:5-7 (WEBBE)
Jesus intentionally delayed answering the sisters’ message. And yet his motive was not cruel or careless. It was loving. The passage explicitly tells us that Jesus loved this family. And therefore, he lingered before going to Lazarus’ side.
It’s hard for us to reconcile the pain of being told to wait with God’s love for us, but in this passage, the two are inextricably linked. Jesus’ delay was motivated by His love. And this holds true in our lives as well.
God’s delays are loving because they give us two gifts we would otherwise miss.
ONE. God’s delays gift us grief-fueled conversations with Jesus.
When Jesus finally arrived at his friends’ house, Lazarus was dead and Martha and Mary were struggling. At different moments, both of these sisters said the exact same thing to Jesus, “Lord, if you would have been here, my brother wouldn’t have died.” (Luke 11:21, 32)
Fresh grief has a way of making us honest. No matter how strong our faith is, we suddenly can’t deny that we also have hurts, disappointments and questions. Yet if we will take that mix of faith and struggle—just as it is—to Jesus, He will meet us in uniquely meaningful ways and hearts will be moved.
Martha’s heart was certainly moved in this passage. You know, when Martha first spoke her feelings to Jesus, she added on, “Even now I know that whatever you ask of God, God will give you.” Those words revealed that Martha had a budding faith—she knew the truth about Jesus. But in the conversation that followed, Jesus grew her faith to a fuller bloom. He revealed Himself as “the Resurrection and the Life” and soon, Martha wasn’t merely saying “I know” statements about Jesus. She was saying “I believe” statements. In verse 27, she boldly proclaimed, “I have come to believe that you are the Christ, God’s Son, He who comes into the world.” Jesus used this grief-fueled conversation to comfort Martha with the reality of who He was—and He moved her heart to greater faith in Him.
Of course, Martha’s heart wasn’t the only heart moved that day. As Jesus interacted with Mary, His own heart was moved. Verses 32 to 35 tell us that when Mary spoke her feelings to Jesus, He was deeply moved by her weeping. And soon, He was weeping over Lazarus, too.
When we dare to have honest conversations with Jesus amid the delays of life, we find that He leans in and listens, just like He did with Mary. He enters in fully to what we’re going through! And this means that even if our conversations with Jesus are more full of more weeping than actual words, they can still be strengthening to our faith. Because we get to see Jesus joining in our grief, we can know without a doubt that He cares for us.
It’s true. Jesus initially delayed in coming to his friends’ rescue. But because He did, Mary and Martha got to go deeper with Jesus than they would have otherwise. As superficialities were flung aside in the wake of grief, they poured out their hearts and got to see the loving heart of their Lord in response. Faith grew. Relationship grew. And the story wasn’t even over yet….
So, when we, like Mary and Martha, find ourselves struggling with God’s delays, let’s remember: We can let our grief fuel conversation with the Lord.
If we will, our relationship with Him will grow. And the more we know Him, the more we’ll trust Him with our waiting and our grieving.
TWO. God’s delays gift us glory-filled revelations of Jesus.
Shortly before Jesus raised Lazarus from the dead, He told Martha, “Didn’t I tell you that if you believed, you would see God’s glory?” This is a hope-filled thought for those of us still waiting on God for answers to prayer.
Though we may not know exactly how God will work out our situations, we can know this: if we keep on believing and trusting God in our waiting, we will see His glory in ways we might not have otherwise.
Sometimes, I think God delays so that when He finally answers, we won’t take that answer for granted. He wants us notice His kindness, power—and all the other attributes that make up His glory—in His answer.
Think about it: When God restores a long-fractured relationship or provides a job after a prolonged season of unemployment, we notice His hand in it. And when a stubborn heart finally turns to Jesus or a deep wound finally heals, we give God all the glory. Why? Because the long wait taught us that only God could bring such miracles about.
The story of Jesus’ delay and Lazarus’ eventual resurrection reminds us that Jesus does care about the earthly things that matter to us—and He is able to provide miracles! But even when He gives us what we want, His goal is always to give us something greater: more of Himself.
So, whatever answer to prayer you are waiting on, look for God’s glory just as much as you are looking for an answer. Take note of every attribute God allows you to see—in the waiting and in the providing.
God’s love is the motivation behind everything He does—delays included. May we take advantage of waiting’s unexpected gifts.
This devotion is based on one of the Scriptures from my 2025 reading plan: “A Year in the Gospels” To receive a copy of the reading plan (and future reading plans), sign up for the email list below. Hope you’ll follow along! You can also learn more about my Scripture over Screentime experiment here.
Written by Paige K. Burhans
©2025 Paige K. Burhans
Scriptures taken from the World English Bible British Edition. Public Domain.
