When God is Silent

This past week, I put out a Facebook post with this question: “What do you do when God is so silent?”

I asked this question to find out what people who seek the Lord usually do when God seems silent. Shout out and thanks to those who responded—I appreciate you!

The common response was to pray and read the Bible, and I agree that these are the top two on the list. When God seems silent, we need to seek Him even more!

Hearing God’s voice is such a comfort; it gives us assurance that we are on the right track. A life aligned with God’s will and direction is the safest place to be. It’s like a constant green light that says, “You’re going the right way, proceed.”

But what if we lose that signal and the assurance that we are on the right path? It’s like getting lost in the middle of a cornfield where the corn stalks are a foot or two taller than you. What do you do?

It’s hard to feel grounded and safe when the Lord is silent. I’ve observed that God does withhold His voice at times. When this happens to me, I imagine myself bleating like a lost sheep in the middle of nowhere, searching for its shepherd and desperate to hear His voice.

Despite the Lord’s silence, I take comfort in this: even though God is silent, He is not distant. He stays close to us no matter what.

The LORD is near to all who call on him, to all who call on him in truth. Psalm 145:18

Two commenters pointed this out – when God is silent, “Wait on Him”.

Yes, we wait on the Lord. Maybe He wants us to quiet our hearts, trust, and just wait. Yes, there’s a delay in His answer, but there’s no need to panic—just wait.

I’ve heard that things happen slowly in the physical realm—much slower in comparison to how fast things happen in the heavenly realm. No wonder things are always delayed on earth.

I was praying one day, and I asked the Lord why He had not answered my prayers yet. It was a difficult time for our family, and my daughter was dealing with severe anxiety and depression. Although my husband and I believe that the Lord will heal and deliver her, the Lord seemed quiet about it. I was being impatient and told the Lord, “I’ve been waiting patiently. Why is it taking so painfully long?”

The answer finally came. He told me, “I am working. I am working in you, your husband, your daughter, and your son.”

All this time I was waiting, the Lord had been working. He sees the big picture; I don’t. I needed an answer to my prayer regarding my daughter, but the Lord was doing more than that. He was, and has been, healing and restoring my whole family. How awesome is that?

God is still working, and I am waiting—now with anticipation that, in His timing and His way, complete healing and restoration will come. And I can see that now. I can see how the Lord has been changing our hearts toward each other, and I can feel peace now that we didn’t have before. Praise be to His name!

Waiting is hard for most of us. We want to see results and progress. We want to see things happen. But who says nothing happens while we wait?

A lot of things happen when we wait upon the Lord. Here are some of them:

Rest. We get to rest—physically, emotionally, and spiritually. Rest is so important to the Lord that it was included in the Ten Commandments (Exodus 20:1-17).

For in six days the Lord made the heaven, earth, and sea, and everything in them, and rested the seventh day; so he blessed the Sabbath day and set it aside for rest. Exodus 20:11 (The Living Bible)

Seek. Waiting gives us space to seek the Lord and His will in a deeper way. We seek and sit still as we wait for the Lord to answer.

Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for Him. Psalm 37:7

You will seek me and find me when you seek me with all your heart. Jeremiah 29:13

Test. Waiting gives us time to evaluate what’s truly important by examining (testing) our hearts.

I seek you with all my heart; do not let me stray from your commands.
I have hidden your word in my heart that I might not sin against you. Psalm 119:10-11

Renew. After we rest, seek the Lord, and test our hearts, renewal and refreshment come. Even when the answer to our prayers takes a while, our faith and trust in the Lord are renewed day by day. We find strength in the Lord, and we don’t grow tired of waiting or doing His will.

but they who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength;
they shall mount up with wings like eagles;
they shall run and not be weary;
they shall walk and not faint.

Isaiah 40:31 (ESV)

Isaiah puts it so plainly in Isaiah 40:27-31. I need to be reminded by this Scripture whenever I am tempted to complain and assume that God does not know what I am going through or that He has forgotten all about me.

27Why do you complain, Jacob?

Why do you say, Israel,

“My way is hidden from the Lord;

my cause is disregarded by my God”?

28Do you not know?

Have you not heard?

The Lord is the everlasting God,

the Creator of the ends of the earth.

He will not grow tired or weary,

and his understanding no one can fathom.

29He gives strength to the weary

and increases the power of the weak.

30Even youths grow tired and weary,

and young men stumble and fall;

31but those who hope in the Lord

will renew their strength.

They will soar on wings like eagles;

they will run and not grow weary,

they will walk and not be faint.

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