But a longing fulfilled is a tree of life.—Proverbs 13:12b (NIV)

Dumbfounded, I watched my friend burst into tears as she read the email. “Can you believe this?” she asked.

“Yes,” I replied, trying to understand her confusion. “This is what I’ve been praying for. Haven’t you?”

She hesitated a moment and then answered, “Yes, but I thought these kinds of answered prayers only happen for other people—never for me.”

Waiting for a prayer to be answered is hard (you can read a post about it here). The longer we wait, the less we believe it will happen. My friend and I had prayed faithfully for years. And now that she received her hoped-for answer, she found it hard to believe. 

Whenever I’m waiting for a prayer to be answered, this proverb comes to mind:

Hope deferred makes the heart sick,
but a longing fulfilled is a tree of life. (Proverbs 13:12 NIV)

Most often, I focus on the first half of this verse. Deferred in this passage comes from the Greek word mashak, which means to put off, or to drag out. I’m keenly aware of how prolonged waiting can sicken our hearts with anxiety, frustration, discouragement, and even faithlessness. 

But I also understood my friend’s reaction to her answered prayer. I’ve often struggled with believing God would answer my prayers. Especially when I’ve been waiting a long time. Yet this verse doesn’t speak of a hope denied—just one that has been delayed. When we persevere, we will find the answer to our longings.  

In fact, the second half of this verse describes a longing fulfilled as a tree of life. This same phrase describes one of the trees which grew in the center of the Garden of Eden (Genesis 2:29). Because eating its fruit made people live forever (Genesis 3:22), this tree often represents a full and eternal life. In this proverb, the fulfillment of our desires (the answers to our prayers), revives and encourages our souls. It fills and enriches our lives emotionally, spiritually, and physically.

This certainly proved true for my friend. Over the next few days I watched her move from disbelief to irrepressible joy. As she delighted in the answer to her prayer, she renewed her faith and found the courage to pray for other unfulfilled desires.

Both my friend and I know that God will not answer every prayer exactly the way we hope. But even then our longings can still be fulfilled—just not in the way we expect. Instead, God moves in our hearts and changes our longings, until they align with His will (you can read a blog post about that here). And inexplicably, peace will fill our souls as we delight in His plan.

Regardless of how God answers our prayers—either by giving us what we asked for, or by changing our hearts so we want what He gives us—He moves to fulfill our longings. And a longing fulfilled is sweet to the soul (Proverbs 13:19a).

Dear Lord Jesus, because of Your love we can ask the Father for anything. Help us hold on to hope as we wait for the answers to our prayers. Sometimes He will give us exactly what we’ve asked. Other times He will change our longings to match His will. But in every answer, we will know the sweetness of a longing fulfilled. We pray this in Your name. Amen.