Wrestling With Silence: When God feels distant

Everyone has experienced a stage where it seemed as if God was silent, like every one of our prayers was covered with thick clouds, preventing them from reaching him. It may take days, weeks, months, or even years, and the situation we pray about remains the same or even becomes worse. Unfortunately, this season becomes one of the toughest challenges for believers; some grow weary, some backslide, some lose faith, and only a few hold on to faith. This faith that was spoken of in Hebrews 11—the substance of things hoped for and the evidence of things not seen. We learned it was by this faith that the elders of old obtained a good report.

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When our prayers seemed unanswered, God is still not silent. Sometimes it may be because our minds are too loud that we can't hear him speak, or because his will isn't in alignment with what we keep praying for. People have seen blessings that led to their pitfall, and some have brought calamity upon themselves by acquiring certain things when it wasn't the right time yet. God's ways aren't men's ways; what we see sometimes may not be all there is, and in God's silence (as seen by men), he is saying "it's not time yet."

While sometimes God's silence may be a training ground for faith, we can see this in the case of Job when he said "I cry out to you, God, but you do not answer; I stand up, but you merely look at me." (Job 30:20). Despite God's silence, Job held onto his faith and refused to curse God like many would do in this dispensation where their allegiance is tied to substance. For days his plea fell on deaf ears; everything he had, he lost. But God's silence didn't break him. God's silence didn't make him doubt his faith. Instead, he said, "I have stated my case. Let the Almighty answer me." The end of it came with a shocking revelation that strengthened Job's faith: "My ears had heard of you, but now my eyes have seen you." The experience only made Job see God's nature. So when it seemed God is silent, he has something greater to show you.