When God Is Silent Series

WHEN GOD IS SILENT

Dr. D. K. Olukoya

There could be worrying occasions in a believers prayer life when it appears that God is silent. Our message this week focuses on the possible reasons this may be so. I therefore would like you to open your hearts as you prayerfully read along. As our working tool, let us consider three different texts from the scriptures. Psalm 28:1 says,

"Unto thee will I cry, Oh Lord my rock: be not silent to me lest, if thou be silent to me, I become like them that go down into the pit."

Psalm 83:1 says exactly the same thing, "Keep not thou silence, Oh God: hold not thy peace, and be not still, Oh God."

Psalm 50: 16-22 says, "Unto the wicked God saith, What hast thou to do to declare my statues, or that thou shouldest take my covenant in thy mouth? Seeing thou hatest instruction, and casteth my words behind thee. When thou sawest a thief, then thou consentedst with him, and hast been partaker with adulterers. Thou givest thy mouth to evil, and thy tongue frameth deceit. Thou sittest and speakest against thy brother; thou slanderest thine own mother’s son. These things hast thou done, and I kept silence: thou thoughtest that I was altogether such an one as thyself: but I will reprove thee, and set them in order before thine eyes. Now consider this, ye that forget God, lest I tear you in pieces, and there be none to deliver."

Beloved, I have heard many sermons in my life, but very few were as moving as the one I heard over 20 years ago titled, "God’s lamentation and failure over His creatures." The preacher took his text from Genesis 6:5 which says, "And God saw that the wickedness of man was great in the earth, and that every imagination of the thoughts of his heart was only evil continually". The summary of that particular message was God’s decision to wipe off man from the surface of the earth as a result of man’s refusal to hearken to His voice. So once the words of God does not change a person and the person stubbornly sticks to his opinions and ways, the end is always destruction. The word of God did not change Adam and Eve and that is why the whole of humanity is in trouble now. The word of God did not change Cain, hence he became the first murderer. The word of God did not change Lot’s daughters though they received angelic visitation. Korah, Dathan and Abiram also refused to be changed by the word of God and became the first people to go to hell fire without dying, they were swallowed alive. God lamented in so many places in the scriptures.He also laments when His words do not change men. However, God may even choose not to speak at all. Let us examine some of the possible reasons He may take this line of action:

1.When He is not happy with you and has forsaken you. It was God that chose Saul, installed him as king over His people and helped him win his battles. But he disobeyed God and God refused to have any further dialogue with him, either through prophecy, vision or dream. Saul eventually fell and died with his three children the same day. Eli and Samuel were sleeping in the same environment, but God chose to speak to Samuel because Eli’s activities had since evoked the displeasure of God. So when you are not hearing again from the Lord, you probably have started doing some things which have evoked His displeasure and He has therefore forsaken you. At this juncture, pray to the Lord like this:

"Any sin blocking my ears, any sin scaring God away from me, depart from my life now, in the name of Jesus."

2.When He is speaking to you but you are not hearing His voice. He is talking but somewhere along the line, your own frequency is different from His own. If God is speaking to you and for some reasons something is in your life and you are not hearing Him, it is as if He is silent but He is speaking. You just cannot pick it up. Most believers are very good at talking but their ability to listen is under- developed. Most Christians have become experts in using their mouths and have rejected the act of hearing. In the present world there is so much noise and to be truly silent is very hard. This is the reason some people go for retreat to get out of the crowd and create a conducive atmosphere for hearing from God.

I Samuel 3: 1 says, "And the child Samuel ministered unto the LORD before Eli. And the word of the LORD was precious in those days; there was no open vision."