Isaiah 40:29-31 29 He giveth power to the faint; and to him that hath no might he increaseth strength. 30 Even the youths shall faint and be weary, and the young men shall utterly fall: 31 but they that wait for Jehovah shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings as eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.

Waiting for God to answer a prayer request is often stressful and frustrating. This is especially true if the issue is urgent or we’ve been praying for months or even years without any evidence of an answer. We must remember that God is working according to His timetable, not ours. He is the sovereign and omniscient ruler of heaven and earth, who works all things according to the counsel of His will.

However, this doesn’t mean He’s a cosmic despot who doesn’t care. On the contrary, He is our loving heavenly Father, who is infinitely good, wise, and powerful. He continually watches over and cares for His beloved children.

From our limited earthly perspective, however, the delay may seem pointless, trying our patience and challenging our faith. Periods of waiting are very often accompanied by fear, stress, or grief. These negative feelings could easily push us forward in search of a solution or lead us into despair. But the Lord has promised protection and provision for those who wait upon Him. If we’ll turn to Him, trusting in His wisdom and love, He will not only strengthen us to endure but will also help us mature through the process.

When the Lord leads you into the “waiting room,” He wants you to keep in step with Him. If you become impatient and try to run ahead, you’ll miss whatever He has for you, whether lessons or blessings or something else. Delays are not easy, but when His answer finally comes, you’ll discover that your patience and trust in Him have grown.

Bible in One Year: Song of Solomon 1-4 Chapter 1 1 The Song of songs, which is Solomon's. 2 Let him kiss me with the kisses of his mouth; For thy love is better than wine. 3 Thine oils have a goodly fragrance; Thy name is `as' oil poured forth; Therefore do the virgins love thee. 4 Draw me; we will run after thee: The king hath brought me into his chambers; We will be glad and rejoice in thee; We will make mention of thy love more than of wine: Rightly do they love thee. 5 I am black, but comely, Oh ye daughters of Jerusalem, As the tents of Kedar, As the curtains of Solomon. 6 Look not upon me, because I am swarthy, Because the sun hath scorched me. My mother's sons were incensed against me; They made me keeper of the vineyards; `But' mine own vineyard have I not kept. 7 Tell me, O thou whom my soul loveth, Where thou feedest `thy flock', Where thou makest `it' to rest at noon: For why should I be as one that is veiled Beside the flocks of thy companions? 8 If thou know not, O thou fairest among women, Go thy way forth by the footsteps of the flock, And feed thy kids beside the shepherds' tents. 9 I have compared thee, O my love, To a steed in Pharaoh's chariots. 10 Thy cheeks are comely with plaits `of hair', Thy neck with strings of jewels. 11 We will make thee plaits of gold With studs of silver. 12 While the king sat at his table, My spikenard sent forth its fragrance. 13 My beloved is unto me `as' a bundle of myrrh, That lieth betwixt my breasts. 14 My beloved is unto me `as' a cluster of henna-flowers In the vineyards of En-gedi. 15 Behold, thou art fair, my love; Behold thou art fair; Thine eyes are `as' doves. 16 Behold, thou art fair, my beloved, yea, pleasant: Also our couch is green. 17 The beams of our house are cedars, `And' our rafters are firs. Chapter 2 1 I am a rose of Sharon, A lily of the valleys. 2 As a lily among thorns, So is my love among the daughters. 3 As the apple-tree among the trees of the wood, So is my beloved among the sons. I sat down under his shadow with great delight, And his fruit was sweet to my taste. 4 He brought me to the banqueting-house, And his banner over me was love. 5 Stay ye me with raisins, refresh me with apples; For I am sick from love. 6 His left hand `is' under my head, And his right hand doth embrace me. 7 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake `my' love, Until he please. 8 The voice of my beloved! behold, he cometh, Leaping upon the mountains, Skipping upon the hills. 9 My beloved is like a roe or a young hart: Behold, he standeth behind our wall; He looketh in at the windows; He glanceth through the lattice. 10 My beloved spake, and said unto me, Rise up, my love, my fair one, and come away. 11 For, lo, the winter is past; The rain is over and gone; 12 The flowers appear on the earth; The time of the singing `of birds' is come, And the voice of the turtle-dove is heard in our land; 13 The fig-tree ripeneth her green figs, And the vines are in blossom; They give forth their fragrance. Arise, my love, my fair one, and come away. 14 O my dove, that art in the clefts of the rock, In the covert of the steep place, Let me see thy countenance, Let me hear thy voice; For sweet is thy voice, and thy countenance is comely. 15 Take us the foxes, the little foxes, That spoil the vineyards; For our vineyards are in blossom. 16 My beloved is mine, and I am his: He feedeth `his flock' among the lilies. 17 Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, Turn, my beloved, and be thou like a roe or a young hart Upon the mountains of Bether. Chapter 3 1 By night on my bed I sought him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 2 `I said', I will rise now, and go about the city; In the streets and in the broad ways I will seek him whom my soul loveth: I sought him, but I found him not. 3 The watchmen that go about the city found me; `To whom I said', Saw ye him whom my soul loveth? 4 It was but a little that I passed from them, When I found him whom my soul loveth: I held him, and would not let him go, Until I had brought him into my mother's house, And into the chamber of her that conceived me. 5 I adjure you, O daughters of Jerusalem, By the roes, or by the hinds of the field, That ye stir not up, nor awake `my' love, Until he please. 6 Who is this that cometh up from the wilderness Like pillars of smoke, Perfumed with myrrh and frankincense, With all powders of the merchant? 7 Behold, it is the litter of Solomon; Threescore mighty men are about it, Of the mighty men of Israel. 8 They all handle the sword, `and' are expert in war: Every man hath his sword upon his thigh, Because of fear in the night. 9 King Solomon made himself a palanquin Of the wood of Lebanon. 10 He made the pillars thereof of silver, The bottom thereof of gold, the seat of it of purple, The midst thereof being paved with love, From the daughters of Jerusalem. 11 Go forth, O ye daughters of Zion, and behold king Solomon, With the crown wherewith his mother hath crowned him In the day of his espousals, And in the day of the gladness of his heart. Chapter 4 1 Behold, thou art fair, my love; behold, thou art fair; Thine eyes are `as' doves behind thy veil. Thy hair is as a flock of goats, That lie along the side of mount Gilead. 2 Thy teeth are like a flock `of ewes' that are `newly' shorn, Which are come up from the washing, Whereof every one hath twins, And none is bereaved among them. 3 Thy lips are like a thread of scarlet, And thy mouth is comely. Thy temples are like a piece of a pomegranate Behind thy veil. 4 Thy neck is like the tower of David builded for an armory, Whereon there hang a thousand bucklers, All the shields of the mighty men. 5 Thy two breasts are like two fawns That are twins of a roe, Which feed among the lilies. 6 Until the day be cool, and the shadows flee away, I will get me to the mountain of myrrh, And to the hill of frankincense. 7 Thou art all fair, my love; And there is no spot in thee. 8 Come with me from Lebanon, `my' bride, With me from Lebanon: Look from the top of Amana, From the top of Senir and Hermon, From the lions' dens, From the mountains of the leopards. 9 Thou hast ravished my heart, my sister, `my' bride; Thou hast ravished my heart with one of thine eyes, With one chain of thy neck. 10 How fair is thy love, my sister, `my' bride! How much better is thy love than wine! And the fragrance of thine oils than all manner of spices! 11 Thy lips, O `my' bride, drop `as' the honeycomb: Honey and milk are under thy tongue; And the smell of thy garments is like the smell of Lebanon. 12 A garden shut up is my sister, `my' bride; A spring shut up, a fountain sealed. 13 Thy shoots are an orchard of pomegranates, with precious fruits; Henna with spikenard plants, 14 Spikenard and saffron, Calamus and cinnamon, with all trees of frankincense; Myrrh and aloes, with all the chief spices. 15 `Thou art' a fountain of gardens, A well of living waters, And flowing streams from Lebanon. 16 Awake, O north wind; and come, thou south; Blow upon my garden, that the spices thereof may flow out. Let my beloved come into his garden, And eat his precious fruits.