God answers prayer. But sometimes, God is silent.
As believers, we’ve all been there — or will be. We may earnestly seek God but, in return, only sense His silence. And this silence can be difficult, frustrating, even excruciating.
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The Bible tells the story of a man named Job who was well-acquainted with God’s silence. In his pain and suffering, he cried out to God. He asked for answers. And he kept asking.
But for the first 37 chapters of the Book of Job, his cries for God’s help and relief are met only by God’s deafening silence.
As Christians, we are not always going to hear God’s voice, but from Job we can learn a few practical things to do when God seems silent.
1. Examine Your Life
Begin by asking yourself, Is there any unconfessed sin in my life? Make sure nothing is blocking you from being able to hear God’s voice.
Psalm 66:18 says, “If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened” (New Living Translation). This requires looking deeply at our lives.
Ask yourself: Is there anything (or anyone) I love more than God?
As God brings things to mind, ask for His forgiveness.
And remember, there is no shame in repentance. This act of faith pleases God and restores our fellowship with Him.
2. Accept God’s Authority
Recognize that God can be silent. There is no obligation for God to answer you, inform you or let you know anything.
“God is said to be absolutely free,” says A.W. Tozer in “The Knowledge of the Holy,” “because no one and no thing can hinder Him or compel Him or stop Him. He is able to do as He pleases always, everywhere, forever.”
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Like us, Job faced the choice of acknowledging — or rejecting — the authority of God. In response to his suffering and loss, Job’s wife suggested he curse God and die.
Instead of following her advice, Job chose to let God be God. “Should we accept only good things from the hand of God and never anything bad?” he asked (Job 2:10, NLT).
Accepting God’s authority also means actively trusting God, realizing He is in control and can be trusted.
“Though He slay me,” says Job, “I will hope in Him” (Job 13:15, English Standard Version). Nothing in Job’s life, or ours, happens apart from God’s knowledge and plan. As we learn at the beginning of the Book of Job, God was fully aware of all the things that were about to happen to Job. In fact, He gave Satan permission to do these things in Job’s life. At no point does God release His control.
3. Listen to What God Is Saying
Although God may seem silent regarding a specific request or petition, remember that He is in a constant state of communication with us.
In fact, it is possible that you already have an answer from God. The Bible is full of specific answers about what is right and wrong, as well as information about God’s character and His intention for us as His children and His followers.
So don’t forget to dig into God’s Word — His written communication to us — to find out what He has to say about the problems you are facing or the questions you are asking.
As you read the Bible, ask God to speak to you through the Holy Spirit, who lives inside of you. Often, verses of Scripture can have new significance in light of current problems you are facing.
4. Recognize That Silence Can Be Intimate
Silence can also be a sign of God’s trust in you.
The Gospel of John tells a story about Jesus’ friends Lazarus, Mary and Martha. When Jesus found out that Lazarus was ill, rather than rush to Lazarus’ house to heal him, he stayed where he was for two more days (John 11:6). And before Jesus arrived in Bethany, Lazarus died.
To Lazarus’ sisters, Mary and Martha, Jesus’ silence could have been interpreted as neglect — that Jesus did not care about or want to help them.
This mirrors many of the emotions we feel when God does not immediately answer our cries for help.
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But in Jesus’ silence we, along with Mary and Martha, are drawn into a new closeness to God and understanding of His power. Four days after he died, Lazarus was raised from the dead by Jesus, showing His power.
“When you cannot hear God,” says Oswald Chambers in “My Utmost For His Highest,” “you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible — with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation.”
When you are completely comfortable with a person, it is possible to sit in a room together and not utter a word.
In love, silence can be a sign of intimacy.
For Job, God’s silence was also a result of the depth of their relationship. When Satan approached God, God said, “Have you considered My servant Job, that there is none like him on the earth, a blameless and upright man, who fears God and turns away from evil?” (Job 1:8, ESV). God chose Job because He trusted him.
5. Keep Talking to God
Just because God seems silent doesn’t mean you should doubt Him or stop praying.
God’s silence isn’t a license for us to turn our backs on Him. Instead, it’s an invitation to press forward and seek Him even more diligently.
The psalmists modeled crying out to God. David said, “Oh my God, I cry by day, but You do not answer, and by night, but I find no rest” (Psalm 22:2, ESV). Job also continually cries out to God, asking Him to answer.
For pages of the Book of Job, God is silent. But in chapter 38, God answers — and questions Job. “Where were you when I laid the foundation of the earth?” asks God. “Tell Me, if you have understanding” (Job 38:4, ESV).
God is in control and has been all along. He heard Job’s cries for help. In trust, He waited for the perfect time to speak. Job was reminded:
God answers prayer.
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