The Silence of God #2
The Silence of God #2
“Probably every child of God has had the
distressing feeling at one time or another of being abandoned by the Lord. No
longer does he receive answers to prayer, no longer does[she] sense the Lord's
presence in the daily round: the heavens seem as brass, and the wonderful
promise, "when they call I will answer," rings hollow. At such times
not merely does he receive a no as an answer, [she] receives no answer
whatever.” [Arthur C. Custance Hidden
(Vol.7) - Pt.I, Introduction (custance.org)]
We’ve embarked on an exploration into an answer
of silence to our requests for God’s help. Various answers are being presented
as to why God has not intervened favorably to your requests. These possible
answers are invitations to contemplation.
Again, be warned, that none of these explanations may fit your
situation, and even if one does, you still will be left with an answer that
isn’t what you want. We will then push
on with some suggestions as to what to do when the desire of our hearts is met
with silence.
We have been sold a bill of goods in the Church
that makes us think that as Christians we are always victorious when dealing
with the things of this world. God is
going to prosper us, so we think American Dream prosperity. We think God is going to protect us, and we
imagine an army of angels guarding us.
We think God is going to provide for us, so we wait expectantly,
ignoring the possibility that we have been empowered to be our own
provision. Things, life, circumstances,
and situations, are often contrary to what we consider God’s blessings upon our
lives. When bad things happen, we may
conclude that God is not loving, not caring, or worse, impotent to help, and
worse still, does not exist.
When our expectations of God’s intervention do
not match up with reality, it can be faith-shattering.
Why unanswered pray #6. Perhaps God has something better for you
(Pete Greig, God on Mute, p.149).
Ancient history now, 1989, my time at Calvary Church of the Nazarene in
Memphis Tennessee had come to an end and I was looking for another position. In our system when you are looking for a new
ministry assignment you contact the district superintendent and asked to be
considered. 51 letters of introduction
went unanswered. I was wondering if God
was directing me into something other than full-time congregational ministry. Unemployment with a new baby was
looming. So, we did what every person in
that situation do, we prayed and went on vacation. It was during that vacation
that I was contacted by a district superintendent I never sent a resume. God had something better for me than the
places I thought I wanted to go.
Sometimes God answers in silence as He is working out the details to do
immeasurably more than we can imagine (Ephesians 3:20-21).
Why unanswered prayer #7. Perhaps our motives in prayer are selfish
(Greig, p.149). If you recall our
teachings on intercessory prayer, you know that when someone prays for you,
especially someone who had no skin in the game, their prayer is unselfish. Unselfish prayers are powerful. I know I have prayed my share of selfish
prayers. It’s difficult not to ask for
things that will benefit you. Ever
wonder why you’ve never won the lotto?
James 4:3 (NIV)
When you ask, you do not receive, because you
ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
We live in a country that has many
luxuries. We don’t realize this because
it’s what we’ve known all our lives. Our
consumer culture always encourages us to acquire the newest, the best, the most
prestigious, and get the VIP treatment.
Those are not needs. Pray that
God meets your needs and ask others to intercede for you so that those needs be
met.
Why unanswered prayer #8. Perhaps God is allowing us to struggle a
while to draw us into a deeper relationship with Himself (Greig, p.149). God’s silence is always an invitation to
contemplation. Do we need to surrender
and accept? Do we exercise faith and
trust in the face of a preponderance of the evidence that suggests
otherwise? “Over and over in the lives
of the faithful we see that deprivation, adversity, scarcity, and suffering
often produce superior character qualities in the individual than [does] prosperity,
ease, and abundance [which] often does the opposite” (When God
Seems Silent | Desiring God). Struggling with the silence of God
can be character-building. If we
use the silence to move us closer to God then we will experience a victory, a prosperity,
a protection, a provision that we did not expect.
Why unanswered prayer #9 Perhaps a positive
answer to our prayer would violate some’s free will (Greig, p.149). We say that God is in control, and we say we
have free will. The ideas clash. The truth must lie somewhere between a
puppeteer God and a laissez-faire, hands-off, God. God will not violate a person’s sovereignty;
God will not make a person do something that they do not want to do. Now God certainly can create circumstances
that push a person in the right direction, consider Jonah. He eventually decided it was better to do
what God wanted him to do than stay fish food.
Prayers won’t change a person.
They may help to create an environment conducive to change, but God will
not force a person against their will.
Why unanswered prayer #10. Perhaps God is answering our prayer subtly
and slowly through the power of influence rather than control (Greig,
p.149). We like microwaves, instant
coffee makers, and instant on electronics.
We like quick communication with our cell phones, texts, and emails. We
like instant answers to our prayers.
Maybe it is taking time for God to set all the right necessities in
place to answer your prayer. He may be
speaking to those who can help but they are hard of hearing, slow in
understanding, or ignoring the urging of the Spirit. Your answer is coming, it's just taking
time. Stay faithful, keep expecting, and
remain hopeful, and persistent in asking God to meet the need.
Perhaps one of those “perhaps” feels right to
you. If so, grab ahold of it. Find comfort in it. Find strength in it to keep on keeping
on. Find hope to keep coping. If not,
let’s try to figure out a way to deal with the silence, the unanswered prayer.
God’s favorites at times experience bewildering
silence in times of great difficulty and need. Consider Job, a devout follower
of God.
Job
30:20
“I cry to you for help and you do not answer
me; I stand, and you only look at me.”
Many a mature saint has felt like Job. Michael Card sang Andrew Peterson’s song– The
Silence Of God, the lyrics read:
It’s enough to drive a man crazy, it’ll break a
man’s faith
It’s enough to make him wonder if he’s ever
been sane
When he’s bleating for comfort from Thy staff
and Thy rod
And the Heaven’s only answer is the silence of
God
When
God Seems Silent | Desiring God
In
the silence, it feels like God has gone on vacation. When you feel that way remember it’s a
feeling. God promises that He will never
leave you or forsake you (Hebrews 13:5). In the silence trust the promises, not
the feeling. Trusting what you were sure of in the light, don’t forsake in the
silence.
Psalm
10:1 & 13:1
“Why
do you stand afar off, O Lord? Why do you hide Yourself in times of trouble?
How long will You hide Your face from me?
Within
the silence, as you continue to trust, you can lament. A lament is a complaint
to God, a soul cry against the injustice you have suffered. It can take the form of an accusation. It can take the form of anger. I have certainly raged against the
silence. It doesn’t help to overcome the
pain rather it's defusing, depressurizing, and it's real, it's honest. A lament
is part of mourning, an expression of grief.
Every loss needs to be grieved.
Some folks, more mature than I, can take the worst in stride, they have been
through so much, their testimony is “God came through for me this time, He will
come through again.” I have not mastered
this attitude towards silence. It takes
me longer to get back in stride. I can
tell you that at the end of mourning, though the sadness remains, there is
comfort, a peace that surpasses all understanding (Philippians 4:7), and you
learn to live your life to the full (John 10:10) while carrying the loss.
In
the silence, it is wise to search for acceptance of the situation. This is very difficult, you don’t want what
has happened, what is happening, or what may happen. There is soul anguish, there is uncertainty, and
there is fear. Let’s travel in our minds
to the Garden of Gethsemane the night Jesus was arrested.
Mark
14:32–36 (NIV)
They
went to a place called Gethsemane, and Jesus said to his disciples, “Sit here
while I pray.” He took Peter, James, and John along with him, and he began to
be deeply distressed and troubled. “My
soul is overwhelmed with sorrow to the point of death,” he said to them. “Stay
here and keep watch.”
Going a little farther, he fell to the ground
and prayed that if possible the hour might pass from him. “Abba, Father,” he
said, “everything is possible for you. Take this cup from me.
Have
you been deeply distressed, troubled, your soul overwhelmed with sorrow to the
point you thought it was better to die?
Jesus cries out to the One He called Father. Abba is a term of
endearment, daddy help me.
Luke
22:44 (NIV)
And
being in anguish, [Jesus] prayed more earnestly, and his sweat was like drops
of blood falling to the ground
Jesus
heard silence. In the silence, he resigned himself to accept.
Mark
14:36
“Yet
not what I will, but what you will.”
Acceptance
is difficult. I have told God that the
situation is totally unacceptable, and I won’t accept it, I will not surrender
to it, only to learn that it was not the circumstances I needed to accept, it
was not the situation I needed to surrender to, but rather it was my acceptance
and surrender to God, that He is God, I am not, trusting that one day I will
have found myself having gotten through the valley of the shadow of death.
In
the silence know that your prayers have been heard, God has not forsaken you,
and the Holy Spirit is empowering you to move, most likely kicking and
screaming, through your pain.
So
when the questions dissolve
Into
the silence of God
The
aching may remain
But
the breaking does not
The
aching may remain
But
the breaking does not
At
the holy lonesome echo
Of
the silence of God
Andrew Peterson
Stay faithful, keep trusting, keep obeying, you
will bend, the entire direction of your life may change, but you won’t break.
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