Waiting on God feels like wasted time when you’re ready for answers now. You’ve prayed, sought His will, and positioned yourself for what’s next, but heaven stays silent and circumstances remain unchanged. Days turn into weeks, weeks into months, months into years, and you’re still in the same place you started. Waiting tests your faith like nothing else because it requires trusting God when you can’t see what He’s doing or understand why He’s delaying what seems so obviously right.
The Bible is filled with people who waited: Abraham waited decades for the promised son, Joseph spent years in prison before his purpose was revealed, David was anointed king but waited years to take the throne, and Israel wandered forty years before entering the Promised Land. Their waiting wasn’t passive resignation but active trust, continuing to believe God’s promises while living faithfully in the meantime. Scripture promises that those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, that waiting produces character and hope, and that God’s timing is always perfect even when it feels painfully slow.
These verses offer comfort and perspective for those stuck in seasons of waiting, reminding us that God is working even when we can’t see it and that the wait is never wasted.
Bible Verses About Waiting on God
1. Isaiah 40:31 – Those Who Wait on the Lord Will Renew Their Strength
but those who hope in the LORD will renew their strength. They will soar on wings like eagles; they will run and not grow weary, they will walk and not be faint.
New International Version (NIV)
2. Psalm 27:14 – Wait for the Lord
Wait for the LORD; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the LORD!
English Standard Version (ESV)
3. Psalm 37:7 – Be Still Before the Lord and Wait Patiently
Rest in the LORD, and wait patiently for Him; Do not fret because of him who prospers in his way, Because of the man who brings wicked schemes to pass.
New King James Version (NKJV)
4. Lamentations 3:25 – The Lord Is Good to Those Whose Hope Is in Him
The LORD is good to those who depend on him, to those who search for him.
New Living Translation (NLT)
5. Psalm 130:5 – I Wait for the Lord
I wait for the LORD; I wait and put my hope in his word.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
6. Isaiah 30:18 – Blessed Are All Who Wait for Him
Therefore the LORD longs to be gracious to you, And therefore He waits on high to have compassion on you. For the LORD is a God of justice; How blessed are all those who long for Him.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
7. Psalm 62:5 – Find Rest, O My Soul, in God Alone
My soul, wait thou only upon God; for my expectation is from him.
King James Version (KJV)
8. Habakkuk 2:3 – Though It Linger, Wait for It
For there is still a vision for the appointed time; it speaks of the end, and does not lie. If it seems to tarry, wait for it; it will surely come, it will not delay.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
9. Psalm 40:1 – I Waited Patiently for the Lord
I waited and waited and waited for GOD. At last he looked; finally he listened.
The Message (MSG)
10. Psalm 25:5 – In You I Wait All Day Long
Guide me in Your truth and faithfulness and teach me, for You are the God of my salvation; for You [You only and altogether] do I wait [expectantly] all the day long.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
11. Micah 7:7 – But as for Me, I Watch in Hope for the Lord
But I will keep watching for the LORD; I will wait for the God who delivers me. My God will hear my lament.
New English Translation (NET)
12. Psalm 33:20 – We Wait in Hope for the Lord
We wait for Yahweh; He is our help and shield.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
13. Psalm 123:2 – Our Eyes Look to the Lord Our God
We are like slaves looking up to their owner, like a servant girl watching her owner. That’s how we look to you, LORD God. We will look to you until you have mercy on us.
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
14. Isaiah 64:4 – No One Has Heard or Seen Any God Besides You
Since the beginning of the world, people have not heard or perceived by listening. No eye has seen any God except you. You help those who wait for you.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
15. Psalm 37:34 – Wait for the Lord and Keep His Way
Wait on the LORD, And keep His way, And He shall exalt you to inherit the land; When the wicked are cut off, you shall see it.
New King James Version (NKJV)
16. Lamentations 3:26 – It Is Good to Wait Quietly
it is good to wait quietly for the salvation of the LORD.
New International Version (NIV)
17. Psalm 62:1 – Truly My Soul Finds Rest in God
For God alone my soul waits in silence; from him comes my salvation.
English Standard Version (ESV)
18. Isaiah 49:23 – Those Who Hope in Me Will Not Be Disappointed
Kings shall be your foster fathers, And their queens your nursing mothers; They shall bow down to you with their faces to the earth, And lick up the dust of your feet. Then you will know that I am the LORD, For they shall not be ashamed who wait for Me.
New King James Version (NKJV)
19. Psalm 52:9 – I Will Always Thank You
I will praise you forever, O God, for what you have done. I will trust in your good name in the presence of your faithful people.
New Living Translation (NLT)
20. Romans 8:25 – We Wait for It Patiently
Now if we hope for what we do not see, we eagerly wait for it with patience.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
21. Psalm 39:7 – But Now, Lord, What Do I Wait For?
And now, Lord, for what do I wait? My hope is in You.
New American Standard Bible (NASB)
22. Proverbs 20:22 – Wait for the Lord, and He Will Avenge You
Say not thou, I will recompense evil; but wait on the LORD, and he shall save thee.
King James Version (KJV)
23. Isaiah 8:17 – I Will Wait for the Lord
I will wait for the LORD, who is hiding his face from the house of Jacob, and I will hope in him.
New Revised Standard Version (NRSV)
24. Psalm 27:13-14 – I Remain Confident
I’m sure now I’ll see God’s goodness in the exuberant earth. Stay with GOD! Take heart. Don’t quit. I’ll say it again: Stay with GOD.
The Message (MSG)
25. Psalm 130:6 – I Wait for the Lord More Than Watchmen
I am waiting for the Lord more than watchmen for the morning; yes, more than watchmen for the morning.
Amplified Bible (AMP)
26. Hosea 12:6 – Return to Your God
But you must return to your God, by maintaining love and justice and by waiting for your God continually.
New English Translation (NET)
27. Psalm 59:9 – You Are My Strength, I Watch for You
I will watch for You, my strength, because God is my stronghold.
Holman Christian Standard Bible (HCSB)
28. Isaiah 25:9 – We Trusted in Him, and He Saved Us
When that time comes, everyone will say, “The LORD has saved us! Let’s celebrate. We waited and hoped—now our God is here.”
Contemporary English Version (CEV)
29. Psalm 119:81 – My Soul Faints with Longing
I am worn out waiting for you to save me. But I have put my hope in your word.
New International Reader’s Version (NIrV)
30. Zephaniah 3:8 – Therefore Wait for Me
Therefore wait for Me,” says the LORD, “Until the day I rise up for plunder; My determination is to gather the nations To My assembly of kingdoms, To pour on them My indignation, All My fierce anger; All the earth shall be devoured With the fire of My jealousy.
New King James Version (NKJV)
31. Psalm 52:9 – For What You Have Done
For what you have done I will always praise you in the presence of your faithful people. And I will hope in your name, for your name is good.
New International Version (NIV)
32. Galatians 5:5 – By Faith We Eagerly Await
For through the Spirit, by faith, we ourselves eagerly wait for the hope of righteousness.
English Standard Version (ESV)
33. Hebrews 10:36 – You Need to Persevere
For you have need of endurance, so that after you have done the will of God, you may receive the promise.
New King James Version (NKJV)
34. James 5:7 – Be Patient, Then, Brothers and Sisters
Be patient, then, brothers and sisters, until the Lord’s coming. See how the farmer waits for the land to yield its valuable crop, patiently waiting for the autumn and spring rains.
New Living Translation (NLT)
35. Psalm 145:15 – The Eyes of All Look to You
All eyes look to you, and you give them their food at the proper time.
Christian Standard Bible (CSB)
Our Thoughts On What the Bible Says About Waiting on God
Waiting on God is one of the most difficult spiritual disciplines because it requires trusting what we can’t see and believing promises when circumstances contradict them. Scripture presents waiting not as passive resignation but as active faith, continuing to hope, pray, and live faithfully while God works in His timing. The waiting itself serves a purpose: it develops patience, strengthens faith, deepens dependence on God, and prepares us for what He has ahead. What feels like a delay from our perspective is often divine preparation from God’s.
What strikes me most about biblical waiting is the promise that it’s never in vain. Those who wait on the Lord will renew their strength, will not be disappointed, and will see God’s goodness. The farmer waits patiently for harvest because he knows the crop is coming. We wait on God with that same confident expectation, trusting that He’s working even when we can’t see progress. The silence doesn’t mean absence, and the delay doesn’t mean denial.
The most encouraging truth about waiting on God is that He waits with us. Isaiah says God longs to be gracious to us, that He waits on high to have compassion. We’re not waiting for a reluctant God to be convinced but for a loving Father who’s orchestrating circumstances, preparing us, and working everything together for good in His perfect timing.
Say This Prayer
Heavenly Father, waiting is so hard. I’ve been in this season longer than I expected, prayed more times than I can count, and I still don’t see movement. The silence feels heavy, the delay feels endless, and I’m struggling to trust Your timing. Help me to wait with faith instead of frustration.
Renew my strength as I wait on You. Help me to remember that You’re working even when I can’t see it, that Your delays are not denials, and that Your timing is always perfect even when it doesn’t match mine. Give me patience to wait without growing bitter and hope to believe Your promises even when circumstances seem to contradict them.
Show me what You want me to learn during this waiting season. Help me to grow in faith, deepen in dependence on You, and develop character that can only come through patient endurance. Keep my eyes fixed on You rather than on the calendar or on others who seem to receive what I’m still waiting for.
Thank You that those who wait on You will not be disappointed, that You work on behalf of those who wait for You. I choose to trust Your timing.
In Jesus’ faithful Name, Amen.