There are times when God seems to be moving in mighty ways. Everywhere we look we see His hand, making things happen and answering prayers. Then there are times when God seems silent. Our prayers seem to fall on deaf ears and we can't see a way out of our current situation.
These "seasons of silence" are not meant to cause us more pain. They are meant to remind us of God's wisdom, His sovereignty, and His love. Why does God allow us to suffer if He loves us? For the same reason parents must sometimes allow their children to experience the painful consequences of their choices - so they can grow.
Although it sounds counterintuitive, the first thing we need to do when God is silent is to start talking. Yes, God already knows what's in our hearts, but sometimes we don't. We are often too afraid or ashamed to confess our sins and bare our souls to God. While we can't hide our true selves from God, we can often do a good job of hiding our deepest truths from ourselves.
Have you ever noticed when you're talking to another person that your voice gets louder when you think you're not being heard? The same thing happens when we pray. Sometimes it takes us thinking that God doesn't hear us for us to speak loudly and earnestly enough for us to hear ourselves. Sometimes we have to fall on our knees and cry out to Him at the top of our lungs through eyes blinded by our tears. We need to hear our most heartfelt prayers, not the most politically correct ones. This is a vital first step in the process of authentic prayer.
So, once we've set the stage for an open and honest dialogue with God and He still doesn't answer, what do we do while we wait?
Reflect on the reasons why God may be silent
There are a lot of reasons why God goes silent. He may be teaching us an important lesson. He may be challenging us to take our spiritual maturity to the next level. He may be forcing us to wait so we can be sure we really want what we're asking for. Or, it may not be that He's silent at all. It could be that we're so busy praying or worrying that we simply can't hear Him.
Whether we know what it is or not, there is a reason why we're not hearing from God. Understanding the reason may not be as important as acknowledging the season of silence and focusing our efforts on growing through it as gracefully as we can.
Recognize that God talks in many ways
Unfortunately, most of us do not have the luxury of hearing God answer our prayers in an audible voice. It would be wonderful if we could talk with Him over coffee at Starbucks or have an instant text message exchange with Him on our smart phone. Chances are that neither of those are going to happen. Yet, it's important to remember that although He doesn't communicate with us in the same ways that we communicate with each other, He does communicate with us in countless ways all the time.
God uses dreams, intuition, gut feelings, books, sermons, movies, words of encouragement from a friend or stranger, and a host of synchronistic events like being in exactly the right place at the right time, getting a phone call from someone you'd just been thinking about, or hearing the perfect song on the radio at the exact moment you needed it. God speaks to us through art, nature, the laughter of a child, and the tears of a loved one. Some of God's methods are subtle, but they are profound nonetheless. The challenge is ours - to be ever watchful, mindful, and open to hearing God speak in whatever language he chooses to use at any given moment.
Remember that God has answered your prayers in the past
When in the midst of a crisis, it's easy to forget how God has delivered us in the past. Nearly everyone can recall at least one time in their lives when the odds seemed insurmountable, all the cards were stacked against them, and the outcome was almost certainly going to be grim. Yet God came through and turned tragedy to triumph, and more than likely in the most unexpected of ways. More often than not, that turnaround didn't happen on the first day of that crisis either. The reason that crisis is memorable is because the river we needed to cross was not only deep, it was wide too.
God has always come through for us. There's no reason to believe He's going to abandon us in the midst of our current troubles. Admittedly, He doesn't always give us what we think we want, but He always gives us what we need. Our job is to trust that the ways God chooses to answer our prayers are ultimately meant for our greatest good.
Respect the value of spiritual intimacy
When our relationships are new we often feel the need to talk a lot. We want to establish a connection, learn all there is to know about each other, make sure the other person knows how smart or wonderful we are, and convince ourselves and each other that this relationship is the real deal. One of the hallmarks of a secure, established, and truly intimate relationship is that the need to talk all the time loses its stronghold. In fact, people who have been successful in achieving a deep and abiding intimacy realize the beauty of silent times. They realize that there are times when their loving silence says more than mere words could ever say.
God longs for us to achieve the same degree of intimacy with Him. He wants us to trust that He loves us enough that we don't need Him to spend every minute proving it. He wants us to have an intimate relationship with him that not only accepts, but desires, moments of beautiful silence. He wants us to agree with the words of the anonymous writer who said "I believe in the sun even when it isn't shining. I believe in love even when I am alone. I believe in God even when he is silent."
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