When Heaven Is Silent

When the Heaven is Silent

Mat 15:21-28

Have you ever felt like the Lord wasn’t listening? I know I have. I’ve had times when it felt like my prayer just bounced off the ceiling and came down upon my head again. I think it’s one of those things that everyone experiences from time to time. You’ve prayed faithfully and in faith, but you don’t hear anything. You cry out to God for help, but you’ve got nothin’. Your problem is still a problem. Your illness has still got its stranglehold on you. The need you’ve been seeking for Him to fulfill is still unresolved, and you continue to have that same need.

Some people might push it back onto you, saying that you just don’t have enough faith. But you know, that’s a lie from the pit of hell, designed by the devil and used by Christian’s to sow discord, doubt, and despair among the brethren. Now, the person saying this might think they’re encouraging someone into greater faith, but the fact is that response isn’t encouraging at all, it’s just the opposite. The lie is that you have little faith, when the truth is that little faith can move mountains! Mat 17:20 …if you have faith the size of a mustard seed, you will say to this mountain, 'Move from here to there,' and it will move; and nothing will be impossible to you.

You know, it’s not uncommon at all for God to appear to be silent. Do you remember the story of when Daniel prayed and prayed and received no answer from the Lord? Well for 3 weeks, he heard nothing, and then one day an angel appeared to him and said, Dan 10:12-13 …"Do not be afraid, Daniel, for from the first day that you set your heart on understanding this and on humbling yourself before your God, your words were heard, and I have come in response to your words. (13) "But the prince of the kingdom of Persia was withstanding me for twenty-one days; then behold, Michael, one of the chief princes, came to help me, for I had been left there with the kings of Persia.

Daniel’s prayer was hindered through no fault of his own. God had answered his prayer immediately, but the response didn’t reach him immediately. He had to wait. And also think about the apostle Paul. He had a persistent problem that had plagued him for a long time. He said 2Co 12:7 …there was given me a thorn in the flesh, a messenger of Satan to torment me—to keep me from exalting myself! Well, he prayed three times, and asked the Lord to remove this thorn, but do you know what the Lord told him? He said, 2Co 12:9 …"My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness." In other words, the Lord said, “Nope! Not gonna to fix it. You will just have to continue relying upon Me. You have my unmerited favor, and that’s enough.”

Abraham was 75 years old when he received the promise of land and a nation, but the promise of a heritage took 25 years to come about when Isaac was born, and the promise of land didn’t happen for over 400 years! David was anointed by Samuel to be the next king of Israel while he was till just a teenage boy. He didn’t actually become the king until he was 30, and it took another 7-1/2 years after that before he gained the whole kingdom that was promised to him.

Friends, the Bible is full of examples of apparent silence from heaven. Do you remember that Jesus arrived at Jarius’ house seemingly to late to heal his daughter. She had died before He got there, but we find out that Jesus knew exactly what He was doing, and you know, the same thing occurred in the case of Lazarus. The Lord intentionally waited an extra 2 days before going to Bethany to heal him, and by the time He arrived, Lazarus had been dead and buried for 3 days. But that didn’t phase the Lord at all. It was all part of His plan because He knew He was going to snatch His friend out of the jaws of death.

Beloved, God doesn’t always answer us in our timeframe, or with the answer we want, but you can still rest assured that He loves you no matter how long it takes to receive the answer. He still cares for you. You are still on His mind. He’s a big God, and even with the millions upon millions of people calling out to Him everyday, there is still plenty of room for you in His mind and in His heart. Though heaven may seem silent, He has heard, and will respond in His time, not ours, and there’s a lady in our story today that discovered this very thing.