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If your prayers seem unanswered, or you feel the wait for God to act has been long, author and speaker Dena Dyer encourages confidence that God uses the barren seasons for His purposes. Dyer is the author of the recent blog post “Confidence in Barren Seasons: What Elizabeth Can Teach Us.”

Have you prayed for healing, a new job, a spouse–or children–but you’re still waiting? If so, you join the people of the Bible, like Elizabeth and Zechariah, who lived through barren seasons. Their lives, says author Dena Dyer, show us that we can be confident that God uses these times for His purposes.

“A barren season is one in which our prayers don’t seem to be answered,”? Dyer says. “Maybe our dreams are deferred, or we’re just—impatiently—waiting on something that’s important to us.”

Dyer wrote a recent Christianity Today/Better Samaritan blog post titled “Confidence in Barren Seasons” and is the author of the book Wounded Women of the Bible. She says not only does the Bible introduce us to people who know the ache of waiting, even God knows that ache.  

“Isaiah 30:18 is one of my favorite verses. And it says, ‘So the Lord must wait for you to come to Him so He can show you His love and compassion. For He is a faithful God. Blessed are those who wait for His help.’” 

Barren seasons can tempt us to drift from God. But Dyer urges us to remain confident that God is using these seasons for His purposes. “Be honest with God,” she says. “He already knows how we feel. And He’s merciful and kind.  And I’ve learned over the years that He wants a relationship with us all day, every day, no matter  what our mental state, our spiritual state, our physical state.”

And even when we’re weary of waiting, or disappointed in God, He wants us to reach for Him. “Even in the midst of barrenness, even in the midst of our lack of faith, He’s not going to condemn us in the moment, but embrace us,” she says.

Read Dyer’s blog on this topic here.