When God Seems Silent

"O God, do not be silent! Do not be deaf. Do not be quiet, O God." —Psalm 83:1 (NLT)

When I think about the times when I thought God truly seemed silent, it always seems they were the moments when I needed his reply the most.

Have you ever asked yourself, "Why does God feels so silent?" Maybe you know He's there, but you can't hear Him or feel His presence. I've experienced this silence and feeling far from God too.

My Story of Isolation

My mother wanted us to move to a new province to be with the rest of our family. We thought God would want us to choose family over everything else.

As time went on, the city girl in me suffered through the extreme contrast between my former life in a clean, beautiful city and the harsh, polluted environment this other province offered. I didn't know the local language either, which made me feel even more isolated—like an outcast.

Perhaps it was just culture shock, but it caused me a lot of stress and the beginnings of real depression. Out of nowhere, I would feel utter loneliness. Everything was desperately unpleasant. All I could focus on was how terrible my life felt.

I wanted to ask God to heal my brokenness, but I'd find myself crying, "God, no matter what I do, I only feel Your silence." What I eventually came to realize was this: God is only silent if we allow our ears to be deaf to His voice.

The Story of Elijah

"I have zealously served the Lord God Almighty. But the people of Israel have broken their covenant with you, torn down your altars, and killed every one of your prophets. I am the only one left, and now they are trying to kill me, too." —1 Kings 19:10 (NLT)

Elijah was worried and overwhelmed by the serious hardships of his life. In order to hear God's voice, he went to a remote cave and patiently waited for the Lord to speak. A mighty wind blew through the mountains and broke rocks, but it wasn't the Lord. An earthquake shook the ground and a fire rose up, but the Lord still wasn't there. After all this, the sound of a gentle whisper came to his ears (1 Kings 19:10-12).

That whisper that came after all the noise was God's voice! In order to hear God, Elijah had to focus, calm himself in the storm of chaos, and listen for the Lord. He waited through winds, earthquake, and fire before he finally heard God's voice softly asking, "What are you doing here, Elijah?" (1 Kings 19:12-13).

God's Whispers

"After the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper." —1 Kings 19:12

That poor man poured out his heart to God, confessing that he had allowed his fears to overcome his thoughts (1 Kings 19:14). Just like Elijah, I had to stop, quiet my thoughts and fears, and take time to hear God, to feel His presence. And I finally learned why He brought us to this new place.

God's voice is often soft and low. He doesn't always choose to shout or hit us with lightning to get our attention. If we can't hear Him, maybe we're paying too much attention to the noisy chaos instead of focusing on His presence. If God seems silent, maybe we've neglected to stop and listen for His voice—like Elijah.

Have you allowed the cares of this world to plug your spiritual ears? Have you neglected listening to God through His Word? Remember, God is not likely to speak through burning bushes these days (Exodus 3), but through the Bible and through whisperings of the Holy Spirit.

Ways to Make Hearing God Easier

Read the Bible.

God's Word is alive and active and reading it will penetrate your heart if you allow it (Hebrews 4:12). Surrounding yourself with His love letter to you will turn His seeming "absence" into the reality of His presence. Remind yourself of His truths to strengthen your faith (John 16:13).

Talk to God.

If we do not talk to God in prayer, we're making the decision to cut Him off (Philippians 4:6-7). He isn't going to force us to talk with Him because we have free will. But you cannot feel His presence without inviting Him to talk to you. Our God is a relational God; He would like you to trust Him with your heart.

Enjoy His Presence.

Our emotional responses can convince us of lies (Jeremiah 17:9), so we must remind ourselves of the truth: God is with us regardless of whether we feel He is. God is with you always, and nothing can separate you from His love (Romans 8:39).

"Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be frightened, and do not be dismayed, for the Lord your God is with you wherever you go." —Joshua 1:9

What if God still feels far away?

We may be able to logically acknowledge that God cannot be absent in our lives because He is omnipresent (Jeremiah 23:24). We may understand that God watches over us (Psalm 121:5) and that He has something great planned for our lives (Romans 8:28). But sometimes we still just don't hear Him when we want to hear from Him. I get that.

One thing we need to keep in mind is that God is not like a vending machine. Sometimes what we want from Him is something He's going to say "no" or "not now" to, but that doesn't mean He's left you or is ignoring you. Our prayer isn't unanswered—it's just not the answer we wanted.

Understanding Our Desires

If we pray for a good grade on a test we haven't studied for, well, God isn't going to just say, "Sure thing. Here's a miracle!" Is it awful to not get what we asked for? Of course. Might we feel abandoned or neglected? Probably! Does that mean that God was ignoring us completely? Of course not!

Being a good student is not His job but ours (Proverbs 12:11). Next time we have an exam, let's actually study, OK? Because doing well on the test is OUR responsibility.

One of the desires of my heart is to feel close to God, and that's what He wants for me too (Psalm 37:4). Truly rejoicing or "delighting" in the eternal things of God, such as growing in Christlikeness, helps us focus on His voice during the wind, earthquakes, and fires of our lives.

When we listen for God's soft whispers, our desires may begin to parallel His. I'm praying that we will both be fulfilled by a close relationship with God and find those times when we feel alone growing fewer and fewer.

"Delight yourself in the LORD, and he will give you the desires of your heart." —Psalm 37:4

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