When God Seems Silent
*We all go through times in life when God seems silent.
*Those are the times in life when the heavens seem to
be brass.
*In times of God’s silence – We try to pray….but our
prayers may seem only to rise to the ceiling and then
fall back to the floor.
During the times in our life when it seems as if God does not speak to us…
-It is hard to pray
-It is hard to give godly council to others
-It is hard to persevere in the right things
-Sometimes it is even hard to live!!!!
Friends, I am talking to you this morning about a very real part of our Christian Life…. If you have been a Christian for any amount of time you know that there will come times in life when God seems silent.
-Why does God at times seem to be so far in the
distance?
-Why does God at times seem to turn a deaf ear to our
prayers?
-Why does God at times remain silent and keep us
waiting for what we want the
most?
John Wesley has some good insights – about the times in our life when God seems silent.
He says,
1)God may seem silent during times of unseen spiritual warfare.
2)God may be forcing us to grow when He seems silent.
3)God may seem silent when we have unconfused sin in our lives.
Using the Scriptures and John Wesley’s comments as an out line let’s examine the question of God’s silence.
1)God may seem silent when there is unseen spiritual warfare.
This is John Wesley first reason for why God is sometimes silent.
-His observation is supported in the life of the Prophet Daniel.
Daniel 9:3, 20-23
“3 So I turned to the Lord God and pleaded with him in prayer and petition, in fasting, and in sackcloth and ashes”.
Vs. 20-23
“20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill-- 21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice. 22 He instructed me and said to me, "Daniel, I have now come to give you insight and understanding. 23 As soon as you began to pray, an answer was given, which I have come to tell you, for you are highly esteemed. Therefore, consider the message and understand the vision:”
If we had time to read the passages on either side and in between these selections we could see several things.
-Israel had been in captivity in Babylon for nearly 70 years.
-Daniel knew from the scriptures he had that it was time for their release.
-Daniel had a vision of the future that was beyond his understanding.
-Daniel began to seek God in prayer and fasting.
-For 21 days God seemed silent and did not answer.
Finally Daniels answer came in a spectacular way brought by the Angel Gabriel.
Picture this…
-Daniel was right with God…
-Praying for the right things…
-in the right way…
-for the right reasons…
-he was even fasting while he prayed.
BUT STILL GOD REMAINED SILENT FOR MANY DAYS.
We will not look at the specifics of this passage this morning -- the point is that during this period of Daniel’s life God was silent.
A)Spiritual warfare kept Daniel from getting an answer for a time… we can be sure that we will also have chapters in life when God seems silent because of spiritual warfare which is unseen to us.
B)Daniel did not give up when he did not get his answer at first … he trusted in God and continued steadfastly in prayer and fasting.
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We are afraid to look for a demon under every bush – but many times it is not an exaggeration it’s a fact that Satan is opposing us and seeking to silence the voice of God.
Lets read another passage with a lot of insight into spiritual warfare…
Ephesians 6: 10-18
“10 Finally, be strong in the Lord and in his mighty power. 11 Put on the full armor of God so that you can take your stand against the devil’s schemes. 12 For our struggle is not against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the powers of this dark world and against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly realms.13 Therefore put on the full armor of God, so that when the day of evil comes, you may be able to stand your ground, and after you have done everything, to stand.
14 Stand firm then, with the belt of truth buckled around your waist, with the breastplate of righteousness in place, 15 and with your feet fitted with the readiness that comes from the gospel of peace. 16 In addition to all this, take up the shield of faith, with which you can extinguish all the flaming arrows of the evil one. 17 Take the helmet of salvation and the sword of the Spirit, which is the word of God. 18 And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests. With this in mind, be alert and always keep on praying for all the saints.”
In the times when we cannot hear the voice of God and we are sure that it is spiritual opposition…
-We need to take our station in prayer
-Keep our spiritual armor intact
-Set our face to heaven…. And set our feet in the
Gospel.
-If you do not hear a new word from the Lord …Just
keep dong what He told you to do the last time!
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-Military… If you do not get a new order… you keep operating under the old one!
The second observation of John Wesley was that…
2)God may be forcing us to grow when He seems silent.
Luke 8:22-25
“22 One day Jesus said to his disciples, "Let’s go over to the other side of the lake." So they got into a boat and set out. 23 As they sailed, he fell asleep. A squall came down on the lake, so that the boat was being swamped, and they were in great danger. 24 The disciples went and woke him, saying, "Master, Master, we’re going to drown!" He got up and rebuked the wind and the raging waters; the storm subsided, and all was calm. 25 "Where is your faith?" he asked his disciples. In fear and amazement they asked one another, "Who is this? He commands even the winds and the water, and they obey him."
In the midst of this wild storm while His disciples were panicked…
-Jesus remained calmly asleep…Calmly Silent.
-This was a great opportunity for the disciples to
grow and learn a monumental lesson about who Jesus
was!
-The disciples did not expect Jesus to calm the storm they just expected Him to panic like they were panicking!
Jesus had another plan…
- When he calmed the storm…The disciples were able to
get a vivid picture of who He really was.
-Listen the response of the disciples, "Who is this?
He commands even the winds and the water, and they
obey him." (v.s.25)
-If Jesus would have calmed the storm before it
started or would have responded in the panic the
disciples expected they would have never had this
great opportunity to see His power!!!!
Some who are here today may FEEL LIKE YOUR IN THE BOAT WITH THE DISCIPLES you WISH could grab a hold of Jesus and say…
-GOD ARE YOU SLEEPING?
-DON’T YOU REALIZE THAT WE ARE PERISHING?
Your life is full of problems and prayer request
- God seems silent
-He seems to be sleeping
-BUT GOD HAS A GREATOR PLAN
-A GREATER REVALATION
-A GREATER MIRACLE PLANNED FOR YOUR LIFE… THAN YOU ARE CURRENTLY EXPECTING.
-Jesus wasn’t panicked about the storm.
- He’s not panicked over our problems either.
*God’s silence in our life will force us to grow and discover Him to be greater than we think He is!
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Oswald Sanders in his classic devotional My utmost for His Highest says,
“God trusts us with his silence”
-He means God has confidence in us that we will continue to do what we know is right even though we do not feel him present with us.
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Think of other places in the Bible where God remained silent… So people could grow in their knowledge of His awesome power…
A) The death & resurrection of Lazarus…
-Many people had seen Jesus heal the sick…but they never saw Him raise a man from the dead who had been in the grave for 4 days.
B)The Life of Job – who suffered though he was riteous.
C)The Life of David – who ran from King Saul and lived in caves and foreign lands even though he had been anointed King.
The List goes on until it reaches your life and mine….
-Because God has at many times in our life seemed
silent – we have been forced to grow in our knowledge
of who He really is.
A few weeks ago at my I shared with you some ILLUSTRATIONS FROM AND EAGLE. Let me share one more which fits with today’s message.
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A mother eagle broods over and protects her children but when it is time for them to move out of the nest…..
-She kicks the padding out of the nest
-Thorns poke the children and make them uncomfortable
-She may physically throw them out of the nest
-Will allow them to plummet towards the ground
-Catches them moments before the hit the ground
-Finally the birds learn to fly on their own and leave the nest.
***Sometime God takes away our feelings of security – when it is time for us to grow.
-He may seem to be silent
-He may seem to be far off
-He may seem to leave us all alone fighting for life
plunging to the ground.
-BUT THEN He will catch us moments before sure disaster time after time –
-Each time we are forced to grow and learn more about Him through His silence.
John Wesley’s final observation was
3)God may seem silent when we have unconfused sin in
our lives.
Wesley says, that a careful evaluation of his life usually revealed this to be the most common reason for God’s silence
-Unconfused sin will distance us from the Lord and cause Him to be silent.
In our original passage in Daniel 9:20 we see Daniel confessing: personal sin and the sin of his people.
Vs. 20-23
“20 While I was speaking and praying, confessing my sin and the sin of my people Israel and making my request to the LORD my God for his holy hill--21 while I was still in prayer, Gabriel, the man I had seen in the earlier vision, came to me in swift flight about the time of the evening sacrifice.
The Israelites were originally carried into captivity because of their sin and their unwillingness to repent before the Lord.
-Their sins cause God to turn away
-Their sins caused God to remain silent when
they prayed.
*Likewise for us…
-unconfessed sins will separate us from God
-unconfessed sins will make us unable to hear
from God
-unconfessed sins will bring us into bondage.
The good news is we do not have to sit in silence!
-If we have sin in our lives and repent from that sin
God will begin to minister to us and speak to us once
again.
2 Chronicles 7:14
“if my people, who are called by my name, will humble themselves and pray and seek my face and turn from their wicked ways, then will I hear from heaven and will forgive their sin and will heal their land”.
John 1:9
“If we confess our sins, He is faithful and just to forgive us our sins and to
cleanse us from all unrighteousness.”
Acts 3:19
“Repent therefore and be converted, that your sins may be blotted out,
so that times of refreshing may come from the presence of the Lord.”
If you have been holding onto sin in your life … today is the day to give it to the Lord and to begin to hear His sweet voice speaking to your life again.
Review:
1) God may seem silent during times of unseen spiritual warfare.
In those times we should:
A) Recognize the spiritual warfare
B) Continues steadfastly in prayer and fasting until we hear from God.
C) Put on / keep on the armor of God described in Eph. 6.
D) Keep the focus off your self and in the right place.
2) God may be forcing us to grow when He seems silent.
A) God’s silence is a great opportunity to experience greater miracles.
B) God’s silence in our lives is a way He test us to reveal our faithfulness.
C) God’s silence is a tool to make us grow up in our faith and learn to fly.
3) God may seem silent when we have unconfused sin in our lives.
A) If Sin is keeping us from hearing God’s voice Jesus offers us forgiveness.
B) If we repent of our sins we will hear God’s voice once again.
