THE MYSTERY OF DIVINE SILENT YEARS
“Now there was a certain man of Ramathaim Zophim, of the mountains of Ephraim, and his name was Elkanah the son of Jeroham, the son of Elihu the son of Tohu, the son of Zuph, an Ephraimite. 2 And he had two wives: the name of one was Hannah, and the name of the other Peninnah. Peninnah had children, but Hannah had no children.” 1 Samuel 1:1-2.
The Jewish law as at the time of Hannah's predicament, provided for the right and requirement of a husband to take a second wife if a ten-year union had produced no offspring. When therefore Hannah had not giving birth to a child after ten years of marriage as a result of her condition, Elkanah took another woman, a second wife – whose name was Peninnah.
Barrenness does not have to do only with child bearing. One may be barren in ministry, academically, financially, professionally, materially, socially, psychologically, politically, and worse of it all, spiritually.
Many people in Hanna's time would have mocked her and assumed she was "not right with God" because of her situation. This is so common, even in the Body of Christ today.
People may think a spinster or bachelor has somehow failed to do the right thing, not dealt with some secret sins or God would have given them a spouse. It may be suggested, that a woman believing God for a child isn't "doing something right", or she would have had children. Perhaps they aren't praying enough, or perhaps they have messed up in their reproductive system. These judgmental attitudes from fellow believers are very discouraging.
Maybe as you are reading this, there are judgmental people around you who have concluded that nothing good can ever come out of you; but God is telling you today, hold on! It's not over. Don't give up! God has the final say over your life and situation. He has not written the last chapter of your life's book yet. Your miracle can still happen. God is still in the business of miracles and surprises.
I hear God saying, tell someone reading this, it's not too late! You're not too old. Your menopause that has paused is about to start again.
You may have watched others get blessed, get healed, get promoted, get married, and become parents. And it looks as if your time will never come. But, you can't give up now. Yours will surely. Only God has the final say! He has not abandoned you.
You may not have received your miracles when others got theirs, but, be certain of this, when yours arrive, it shall be the talk of the town. The miracles you desire may have been delayed, but when that day come, everyone will bear witness that God Himself made it happen.
Get ready! The door of your breakthrough is about to open.
CLOSED DOORS!
According to the Bible, Hannah wasn’t barren, her womb was merely temporarily closed by God. Her inability to conceive wasn’t as a result of an evil covenant or curses, nor was it an attack of the enemy; God Himself closed her womb for a reason. Samuel was on the way, and God closed the womb in preparation for his arrival.
Sometimes God will close a door because He has something better for you.
Sometimes. God will close doors so that you can change directions.
Sometimes, God will close doors so that you can learn to pray more. Closed doors teach us to pray more strategically and precisely.
Sometimes, God close doors so that you will stop trusting in man. You might have been given hope day after day, by their soothing words of promise. Until one day you are disappointed.
Sometimes, God close doors when He's preparing you for the task ahead-David.
Finally, sometimes, God close doors so that you will wait for His time. God's time is the best.
If you find a closed door, ask God to open it. If He doesn’t, then don’t fight it. Instead, try asking Him why the door is closed, and try listening to His response.
Sometimes, when God wants to bring the very best, He might shut out the inferior from coming to you. He might deny you of certain job because of a bigger one He has for you; God might closed doors on some relationships in order to bring you into a better relationship that will turn your life around; He might stop your preferred opportunities from manifesting because He has opened doors for you elsewhere.
Sometimes, God closes a door because He has hidden you from the enemy until the time of your manifestation.
Each one of us has our own silent years. In fact, many are in theirs now.
WHAT IS THE SILENT YEARS?
"For the vision is yet for an appointed time, but at the end it shall speak, and not lie: though it tarry, wait for it; because it will surely come, it will not tarry.” Habakkuk 2:3.
1. It is a season where your gifts and talents are hidden.
2. The silent years are the years of obscurity, despite your hard work.
3. It is a time of preparation.
4. They are years when your labour, sacrifices and faithfulness goes unrecognised, unappreciated and unrewarded.
5. It is a time for you to be refined, and shaped into the person you are destined to be.
6. The silent years are the years you feel abandoned and insignificant in the place of prayer or service to God.
7. It is the years of waiting for your testimonies to come. Waiting is not the absence of movement. It is not denial. Waiting is preparation for your celebration.
8. The silent years are the years you feel like a caterpillar in cocoon, waiting patiently, to become a beautiful butterfly.
9. It is the time for you to learn what you need to know in order to be what God wants you to be.
Beloved, when God has you in the silent years, do not worry. Refuse to complain or compare your life with others. Keep away from sin and let go of bitterness. Keep praying and keep your faith alive. Stay in God’s will. Trust His timing. Your story is not over! Your time will come.
Ask Him to reveal to you what you need to be doing now in order to ensure a greater future since proper preparation always prevents poor performance.
PRINCIPLE OF DIVINE TIMING!
The calendar of man is measured in years, months, weeks, days, hours, minutes, seconds and milliseconds. Within these times, things get done and happen. But, God is a God of order.
From creation to the end of time, He has had a plan and has worked that plan. He is timely, precise, and true to His plans.
You may not always feel His ever-present presence, but He is always closer than it appears, and He is always at work in your life. His answers and His timing are always a reflection of His love for you.
God still answers prayers, but He does not always answer “yes.” to every prayer or petition. Sometimes, He says “no” or “wait.” When God says “yes” He is doing something for you; "no" means He is going to do something through you, and when He says "wait" He is often doing something in you.
WHY THE DIVINE SILENT YEARS?
1. Because it is not the right time for you to receive that miracle. Will you wait for His perfect timing?
2. The difficult circumstances have not accomplished in your heart what God means for them to accomplish. God will make you wait until the trial you’re facing has accomplished His purposes.
3. The more you pray, the sweeter the answer will be when it comes.
4. Sometimes, you are not ready for the next step. Maybe we have been tolerating a sin or need to deal with some bad attitudes or ungodly thought patterns.
5. The delay could also have the purpose of training us for his calling. God could have made young David to become the king of Israel the day after he was anointed. Yet, he waited 15 years to rise to the throne, many of those years spent as an outcast and fugitive, fearing for his life, hiding out in the caves and running away from his own demon possessed father-in-law. Through all the difficulty, God refined his character and sharpened his leadership skills. When the time was right, He brought him to the throne.
6. Perhaps all the details of God’s plan are not yet in place. God's the master of time and sovereignly works out all the specifics of His great plans for humanity. No amount of prayer or fasting will move His hand until He is ready. When Moses saw the oppression of the Israelites, he tried to correct the situation by killing an abusive Egyptian (Ex. 2:11-12). But God used this situation to redirect him to the desert for 40 years until the time was ready.
7. At times the Lord’s delays are designed to increase our faith. By confidently clinging to God’s Word and knowing that He has never failed to fulfil His promises, we will eventually see the evidence of His faithfulness every time.
8. God will keep you waiting in the silent years when He wants to teach you endurance. Our hardships are designed, not to crush us but to refine us into the image of Christ. When we abide under the pressure with complete reliance on God for His strength, we come out of the process looking stronger.
9. Perhaps your attention needs to be refocused on Christ. There is a difference between seeking the Lord and seeking His intervention. If our thoughts are only on what we want him to do for us, we’ve missed the mark. To wait for the Lord means our focus is on Him, not simply on our desired outcome.
Are you waiting on the Lord? Does it seem you have been abandoned and forgotten by the same One who promised to not leave nor abandon you? Are you in your silent years? Is God making you to wait for the birth of your ministry, a baby, a spouse, a business, or a new job?
It's never easy to wait, but failure has always led to problems. (Gen. 16:1-12).
WHAT MUST WE DO WHILE WE WAIT IN THE SILENT YEARS?
1. Refuse to sin.
2. Keep following and serving God.
3. Meditate on the promises of God daily through prayers. Read it every day, asking God to give you passages which will bring stability to your life. Pray daily. (Luke 18:1-8).
4. Keep praising and giving thanks for what God is about to do.
5. Have faith
6. Wait for God's timing. Wait patiently, quietly, and dependently.
HOLD ON! YOUR CHANGE IS COMING.
You may be in the fire. You may be in the flood, but you are on your way to a wealthy place, to a place of abundance and overflow. That fire is brief; the flood is for a while. Your setbacks are positioning you for a comeback. Your struggle will not last forever. Your pain is not permanent. You will not remain where you are forever. A change is coming! You are on the verge of a breakthrough!
DELIVERANCE PRAYERS
Scripture: Psalm 27:14
1. Every arrow of satanic delay, fired into my life, fail, in the name of Jesus.
2. Chains of limitation and stagnation holding me down, break now, in the name of Jesus.
3. Delay tactics, organised against me from any evil altar, scatter, in the name of Jesus.
4. Thou power of struggling and frustration operating in my life, expire now, in the name of Jesus.
5. Every arrow of shame and disgrace, targeted at my life, catch fire, in Jesus name.
6. Wicked spirit ordained to make me rise and fall in life, fail, in Jesus name.
7. Ancestral powers, delaying my miracles, expire, in Jesus name.
8. Curses and covenants of satanic delay, die, in Jesus name.
9. I pull down every stronghold of satanic delay, in Jesus name.
10. Strongman assigned against my progress, expire, in Jesus name.
11. Satanic decree over my life and blessings, expire, in Jesus name.
12. O God, help me to wait as You work on my breakthroughs, in Jesus name.
