When God Seems Slow

While You’re Waiting, God Is Working

Scripture References

Primary text

• Daniel 10

Other references

• Daniel 2:28
• Ephesians 6:12
• Ephesians 2

Overview

The message speaks to anyone who has prayed in faith and is still waiting on an answer. Using Daniel 10, Pastor Craig shows how God heard Daniel the very first day he prayed, yet an unseen spiritual battle delayed the visible answer. In the same way, our unanswered prayers do not mean God is inactive; “while you’re waiting, God is working.” The sermon reassures believers that they are precious to God, calls them to persevere in faith, and invites the waiting soul to trust Christ completely.

Context

This talk continues the Daniel series on living with conviction in a culture of compromise. Daniel is now about eighty-plus years old, fasting and praying beside the Tigris River when he receives a disturbing future vision.

Main Points

1. The ache of unanswered prayer

• Many in the room (and Pastor Craig himself) carry long-standing requests: healing for children, freedom from anxiety, prodigal kids, financial provision, a godly spouse.
• Honest confession: “Sometimes God is frustrating to me—not because I doubt Him, but because I believe He can and He hasn’t.”
• Lifting of hands/online comments allowed listeners to admit, “I’m praying and I’m waiting.”

2. Daniel’s three-week fast and overwhelming vision (Daniel 10:1–9)

• Historical setup: Judah fell to Babylon; now Persia has conquered Babylon and allowed Jews to return, yet many remain spiritually apathetic.
• Daniel mourns, fasts from “rich food, meat, wine, fragrant lotion” for 21 days, seeking God about his people’s condition.
• At the river he alone sees a dazzling, linen-clothed being (pre-incarnate Christ or high-ranking angel).
• Companions feel terror and flee; Daniel collapses, strength gone—“the strongest of us cannot bear the weight of the glory of God.”

• Illustration: Pastor’s own salvation moment on a softball field, unable to rise under God’s presence; and a recent kitchen worship time that drove him from table to knees to face-down adoration.

3. Heaven’s touch: “You are precious to God” (vv. 10–12, 18-19)

• A hand lifts Daniel—God is “the lifter of my head.”
• Twice the messenger affirms, “You are very precious to God,” bringing peace, courage, and renewed strength.
• Listeners invited to hear the same Spirit whisper personally.

“While you’re waiting, God is working.”

4. Unseen warfare delays, not denial (vv. 12–13)

• From the first day Daniel prayed, his request was heard; yet the “spirit prince of the kingdom of Persia” blocked the angel 21 days.
• Michael the archangel arrived as reinforcement, highlighting real spiritual conflict behind earthly delays.
• Cross-reference: Ephesians 6:12—our struggle is not against flesh and blood but against spiritual forces in the heavenly realms.

5. Holding faith in the gap

• Not seeing movement doesn’t mean God is inactive; faith pleases Him in the waiting.
• Series recap: resolve not to compromise, live distinctly, speak truth in love, and cling to the three-fold confession:

“God, I believe You can.
God, I believe You will.
But even if You don’t, I still believe.”

• Story: Friends searching for a spouse, begging for a child’s return to Jesus, or wrestling crippling anxiety—each still choosing to pray.

• Encouragement to keep casting cares on Him; His peace surpasses understanding.

6. Invitation to salvation

• God may be waiting on those who have yet to surrender. Jesus, the sinless Son, died and rose so “anyone who calls on His name” can be saved.
• Many in the service and online raised hands or typed, “I’m surrendering my life to Jesus,” and repeated a prayer of surrender.

Key Truths

• God hears prayer the very first day it is offered.
• Delayed answers often involve spiritual warfare we cannot see.
• Believers are “very precious to God”; His hand lifts the weary.
• Faith rests on God’s character: He can, He will, and even if He does not, He is still worthy.
• Waiting time is never wasted time—God is at work behind the scenes.

Response

• Keep praying with humility and persistence, even when nothing seems to change.
• Fast or set aside comforts to pursue God’s heart as Daniel did.
• Reject discouragement by remembering you are precious to God.
• Arm yourself daily with truth and prayer, aware of unseen warfare (Ephesians 6).
• Speak the three-fold confession aloud when doubt rises.
• Share God’s faithfulness stories to strengthen others who are waiting.

Closing

Hands were lifted all across the room—people acknowledging ongoing, unanswered prayers. The pastor reminded each one that their petitions have already reached heaven and that angelic forces are battling on their behalf. Peace, courage, and strength flow from the simple fact that “there is a God in heaven” (Daniel 2:28).

“While you’re waiting, God is working.”

Prayer

The congregation prayed a two-part prayer:

1. A surrender prayer for unbelievers, giving their lives to Jesus as Lord and Savior.
2. A corporate plea for believers—trusting God for children, marriages, mental health, finances, healing—declaring continued faith in His goodness while they wait.