Why are some prayers answered immediately while others take years?
This is a question that we’ve all encountered and wondered about. However, what may be the reasoning behind why God works this way? In a recent message, Bible teacher Perry Stone addressed this exact question.
“This is going to help every single person that watches this,” Stone said at the beginning of his message. Drawing from biblical stories, personal trials, and prophetic insight, he offered powerful explanations for divine delays.
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He spoke candidly about his family’s journey through his son’s addiction. “We had to pray nine years. We had to deal with his addiction and we had to deal with his willpower,” Stone said. “It took nine years before finally a breakthrough came, and it came through a wonderful treatment program.”
Stone added, “We are so proud of our son Jonathan, because he loves the Lord and he’s been through a lot and he’s wanting to help people now that are struggling.”
He also shared about his wife Pam’s prolonged health battle. “We’ve been praying for her for about 18 months for something to get healed in her body,” he said. “And we’ve often said, ‘It’s just taking a long time for this to heal.’”
Pointing to Luke 18, Stone explained the parable of the persistent widow: “In Luke 18, when Jesus gave the parable of the unjust judge… He said, ‘Will not God avenge His own elect, which cry day and night unto Him, though He bears long with them?’”
Stone cited biblical examples of delay for divine purpose:
- Abraham and Sarah waited 24 years for Isaac. “God waited till Sarah went through physical menopause… then He allows her to conceive,” he said. “That’s a miracle.”
- Jacob fled Esau’s wrath for 20 years. “The reason is his brother’s wrath had to cool off,” Stone said.
- Joseph spent over a decade in prison. “God had to wait to give him seven years to prepare [for the famine],” he explained.
- Even Jesus came in the “fullness of time” (Galatians 4:4), after prophecies, Roman roads, and a common Greek language were in place.
Stone believes that sometimes we experience delay because “there are things that God will not permit you to see because if you saw them, you would mess it up.”
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In the meantime as we wait on God to fulfill the very things He has promised us, Stone encourages Christians to write down their vision, just like Habakkuk 2:3 says: “For though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come.”
If you’re in a season of waiting, don’t mistake delay for denial. God’s timing is not just perfect—it’s protective, purposeful and prophetic. Stay faithful, stay expectant, and trust that what feels like a setback is often the setup for something far greater than you imagined.
Abby Trivett is content development editor for Charisma Media.
