The strength I had
That I relied on
The things I did
That I took pride in
Well they have gone
And I’m on hold now
And no one knows it
Save You alone
And You remain
My only hope
The questions asked
No answers came
And in the silence
I hear Your name
The pain I prayed unbound
Refused to leave
The doubts that follow
Of what I believed
Still You remain
My only hope
This is the fire
When You delay the answers
The fire that draws me
To this deeper place
Where the only desire left in me
Is to seek Your face
But this is not a test of my faith
No this is not a test of my faith
It is a test of my love
Of my love
Of my love
Of my love
Of my love
I love You
Lord I love You
I love You
How I love You
With all my heart
With all my strength
I love You
Lord I love You
I love You
How I love You
With all my soul
With all my will
I love You
Still
Songwriter: Joanne Hogg
© Thankyou Music, Thank You Music Ltd.
When the Answers Don’t Come
A devotional reflection
There was a strength I used to stand on—things I built with my own two hands. They are gone now, and I am left waiting quietly in a place no one else can see.
I keep asking, and the questions pile up. No answer arrives to close the gap. Yet in the silence, something else speaks—not an answer, but a name I still know.
The doubt did not leave when I prayed it away. It stayed, and I stayed with it, because somewhere beneath the uncertainty, there is still one thing I have not released.
Maybe this was never about certainty. Maybe the waiting is the place where the only thing left worth wanting is simply to be near You.
This is not a test of what I can prove or how much I understand. It is a test of whether I will stay—whether I will keep loving You even when no answer comes.
So let this be my answer, unfinished as it is:
I am still here.
I still love You.
That has not changed,
even when everything else has.
Song Meaning
The singer waits without answers after former sources of strength have fallen away. Doubt and pain remain, yet the prayer holds to God as its only hope.
Biblical Message
Read Psalm 13:1-6 alongside the lyric. The psalm gives language for honest waiting and trust. The song’s fire is a metaphor for a difficult season, not a promise that suffering has a fixed purpose.
Reflection
What does the song’s central image bring to your prayer today? Read Psalm 13:1-6 and respond in your own words.
Frequently Asked Questions
What is “The Fire When You Delay” about?
The singer waits without answers after former sources of strength have fallen away. Doubt and pain remain, yet the prayer holds to God as its only hope.
Which Bible passage connects with the song?
Psalm 13:1-6 is a starting point for reading alongside the lyric.