This blog post initially appeared here in 2014. The version that you see here is RELOADED…I’ve added a few key insights that I hope you’ll find helpful.

A promise of God may be delayed but His Word tells us it is not denied (2 Corinthians 1:20).

Waiting is difficult but when you wait with an attitude of confidence in God’s love for you, maneuvering through the wait can be easier.

Have you prayed for a child for a LOONNGG time? Do you feel like God is ignoring your request or is somehow holding back the one thing that you desperately desire with all of your being? Today, I want to encourage you to not give up while you wait.

Daniel’s Experience of Waiting

Take a look at the Bible’s account about the prophet Daniel and the delay he experienced in the manifestation of his requests to God (Daniel 10:1-12 NLT):

In the third year of the reign of King Cyrus of Persia, Daniel (also known as Belteshazzar) had another vision. He understood that the vision concerned events certain to happen in the future—times of war and great hardship.

² When this vision came to me, I, Daniel, had been in mourning for three whole weeks. ³ All that time I had eaten no rich food. No meat or wine crossed my lips, and I used no fragrant lotions until those three weeks had passed.

⁴ On April 23, as I was standing on the bank of the great Tigris River, ⁵ I looked up and saw a man dressed in linen clothing, with a belt of pure gold around his waist. ⁶ His body looked like a precious gem. His face flashed like lightning, and his eyes flamed like torches. His arms and feet shone like polished bronze, and his voice roared like a vast multitude of people.

⁷ Only I, Daniel, saw this vision. The men with me saw nothing, but they were suddenly terrified and ran away to hide. ⁸ So I was left there all alone to see this amazing vision. My strength left me, my face grew deathly pale, and I felt very weak. ⁹ Then I heard the man speak, and when I heard the sound of his voice, I fainted and lay there with my face to the ground.

¹⁰ Just then a hand touched me and lifted me, still trembling, to my hands and knees. ¹¹ And the man said to me, “Daniel, you are very precious to God, so listen carefully to what I have to say to you. Stand up, for I have been sent to you.” When he said this to me, I stood up, still trembling.

¹² Then he said, “Don’t be afraid, Daniel. Since the first day you began to pray for understanding and to humble yourself before your God, your request has been heard in heaven. I have come in answer to your prayer. (emphasis added)

Daniel was a man of boldness; he was not afraid to pray and trust in God, even when it was illegal for him to do so.  Daniel prayed earnestly. He had “set his heart,” that is, devoted himself, to this thing he was praying about.

The Scriptures give the account of how the prophet lamented for 21 days. He did not understand why he had not yet heard from God. He still had not seen the manifestation of his request. He mourned during that time, not eating, not anointing himself. Had the waiting become a distraction to Daniel? Could it be that in the waiting his focus had changed from the faithfulness of God to the troublesome circumstances surrounding him? Not necessarily. There could be something else working behind the scenes to cause the delay in manifestation.

When God, When?

Do you sometimes wonder WHEN God’s promises will manifest in your life? Delays are a strategic tactic of the devil. It’s during the delays that he seeks to fill your mind with fear and doubt. He wants you to ever so slowly lose your trust in God’s love for you and His willingness to answer your prayer.  He wants you to become hopeless, thinking that having a baby will never happen for you.

The devil wants you to believe that God’s promises of fertility are not true for you. He wants you distracted, stressed out, and anxious about your future. The enemy of your fertility does not want you resting in knowing that God is for you and not against you. He doesn’t want you to trust God to come through on His promises.

But, when you choose to look up and see Jesus in the midst of your situation, you see more clearly that He is right there with you, loving you and wanting to give you the desires of your heart. In Daniel’s case, when he looked up and saw God’s messenger, the messenger acknowledged, “I have come in response to your words” (Daniel 10:12 NASB). He had been dispatched to bring the answer as soon as God heard Daniel’s request.

What had caused the delay? It wasn’t anything that Daniel had done. It wasn’t anything God had done. Evil spiritual forces had interrupted the dispatch and caused the delay. Have you considered that those spiritual forces are possibly causing the delay in the manifestation of God’s promises in your life?  The delay is meant to make you give up, to become hopeless, and to no longer expect that God’s promises will come to pass in your life.

How can you deal with this delay?

The best way to deal with delay is to continue to hold on to God’s promises of fertility by speaking them daily. Speak them with gratitude, as if they have already been granted to you. As you speak them out loud, you build your faith (Romans 10:17). When you repeatedly say them, your mind gets more focused on Jesus. You look at His loving power instead of the turmoil of your circumstances. As you speak them, you’ll find it easier to let go of the problem and let God solve it.

It’s important to realize that God loves you, that He has heard your prayer, and that He wants His promises to manifest in your life. While you wait, it’s critical to trust in God’s faithfulness, to never give up on His promises, and to express gratitude. Yes, you can be thankful in advance of the manifestation!

Remember, delayed does not mean denied when it comes to God’s promises. Address the spiritual aspect of infertility.

Scriptures to Speak and Believe

While you wait, here are some additional scriptures to consider, speak, and believe.

God answers YES to His promises: 2 Corinthians 1:20 HCSB – For every one of God’s promises is “Yes” in Him. Therefore, the “Amen” is also spoken through Him by us for God’s glory.

You are loved: John 17:23b ESV – that the world may know that You sent Me and loved them even as You loved Me.

God doesn’t withhold His goodness: Psalm 84:11 HNV– For the LORD God is a sun and a shield. The LORD will give grace and glory. He withholds no good thing from those who walk blamelessly.

You’ve been made blameless (infertility is not a punishment): 2 Corinthians 5:21 NIV– “For God made Christ, who never sinned, to be the offering for our sin, so that we could be made right with God through Christ.”

Trust Him: Jeremiah 17:7 NLT– “But blessed are those who trust in the Lord and have made the Lord their hope and confidence.” Mark 11:22-23 NIV – “Have faith in God. Truly I tell you, if anyone says to this mountain, ‘Go, throw yourself into the sea,’ and does not doubt in their heart but believes that what they say will happen, it will be done for them.

God’s word is true and final: Psalm 119:89 NLT – Your eternal word, O Lord, stands firm in heaven. Matthew 24:35 NIV – Heaven and earth will pass away, but my words will never pass away.

It’s a spiritual battle: Ephesians 6:12 NASB– “For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the powers, against the world forces of this darkness, against the spiritual forces of wickedness in the heavenly places”.