"Why are there times when God seems silent / absent in a believer's life?"

[ladylovesJesus]

Question: "Why are there times when God seems silent / absent in a believer's life?"

Answer: In answering this question, one is reminded of Elijah and his flight from Jezebel. Elijah was a man of God who God used to do some mighty things. However, when word reached him that Jezebel had threatened his life, he ran (1 Kings chapter 19). Elijah prayed to the LORD and in effect complained about how he was being treated. "And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:10). The LORD'S answer to Elijah is thrilling. "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).

We see in this passage of Scripture that what Elijah thought was not true. Elijah thought God was silent and that he was the only one left. God was not only "not silent" but He had an army waiting in the wings so that Elijah was not alone. "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18).

In our walk as born again believers it may seem that God is silent but God is never silent. What looks like silence and inactivity to us is God allowing us the opportunity to listen to "the still small voice" and to see the provisions that He has made for us by faith. God is involved in every area of a believer's life - the very hairs on our heads are numbered (Mark 10:30; Luke 12:7). However, there are times when we have to walk in obedience the light that God has given us before He sheds more light on our path because in this age of grace God speaks to us through His word.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:8-11).

Therefore, as born again believers, when God seems silent to us it may mean that we have either stopped listening to His voice, we have allowed the cares of this world to plug our spiritual ears or we have neglected His word. God does not speak to us today in signs, wonders, fire or wind, His Spirit speaks to us through the Word and in that Word we have the "words of life."

Recommended Resource: Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey.

 

[Chad]

I really love this subject about GOD because it is probably one of the most important matter in the aspect of faith. Not just plain faith, but TRUE faith that knows how to "Be still, and know that I am God" (Psalm 46:10)

This is true faith that does not waver. One who can sustain his faith in Christ during these what appear to be "silence" from our awesome GOD. I think its a great learning experience to go through such periods. It is supposed to mature us spiritually and in a way humble us to just listen to Him, what GOD has to say.

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Question: "Why are there times when God seems silent / absent in a believer's life?"

Answer: In answering this question, one is reminded of Elijah and his flight from Jezebel. Elijah was a man of God who God used to do some mighty things. However, when word reached him that Jezebel had threatened his life, he ran (1 Kings chapter 19). Elijah prayed to the LORD and in effect complained about how he was being treated. "And he said, I have been very jealous for the LORD God of hosts: for the children of Israel have forsaken thy covenant, thrown down thine altars, and slain thy prophets with the sword; and I, even I only, am left; and they seek my life, to take it away" (1 Kings 19:10). The LORD'S answer to Elijah is thrilling. "And he said, Go forth, and stand upon the mount before the LORD. And, behold, the LORD passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains, and brake in pieces the rocks before the LORD; but the LORD was not in the wind: and after the wind an earthquake; but the LORD was not in the earthquake: 12 And after the earthquake a fire; but the LORD was not in the fire: and after the fire a still small voice" (1 Kings 19:11-12).

We see in this passage of Scripture that what Elijah thought was not true. Elijah thought God was silent and that he was the only one left. God was not only "not silent" but He had an army waiting in the wings so that Elijah was not alone. "Yet I have left me seven thousand in Israel, all the knees which have not bowed unto Baal, and every mouth which hath not kissed him" (1 Kings 19:18).

In our walk as born again believers it may seem that God is silent but God is never silent. What looks like silence and inactivity to us is God allowing us the opportunity to listen to "the still small voice" and to see the provisions that He has made for us by faith. God is involved in every area of a believer's life - the very hairs on our heads are numbered (Mark 10:30; Luke 12:7). However, there are times when we have to walk in obedience the light that God has given us before He sheds more light on our path because in this age of grace God speaks to us through His word.

"For my thoughts are not your thoughts, neither are your ways my ways, saith the LORD. For as the heavens are higher than the earth, so are my ways higher than your ways, and my thoughts than your thoughts. For as the rain cometh down, and the snow from heaven, and returneth not thither, but watereth the earth, and maketh it bring forth and bud, that it may give seed to the sower, and bread to the eater: So shall my word be that goeth forth out of my mouth: it shall not return unto me void, but it shall accomplish that which I please, and it shall prosper in the thing whereto I sent it" (Isaiah 55:8-11).

Therefore, as born again believers, when God seems silent to us it may mean that we have either stopped listening to His voice, we have allowed the cares of this world to plug our spiritual ears or we have neglected His word. God does not speak to us today in signs, wonders, fire or wind, His Spirit speaks to us through the Word and in that Word we have the "words of life."

Recommended Resource: Disappointment with God by Philip Yancey.

Some people will probably deride me for tying demonic activity to this topic, but, I believe that every one of us has a button labeled "Self Centeredness" wired into us and the enemy knows where it is. If he can press that button and divert our attention from God, he'll get us into ignoring God's Word, not listening to His voice and all the other things LLJ mentioned in her post.

We have got to be aware of the enemy fighters who are continually circling around us looking for opportunity to attack. When Jesus said to Peter, "Get behind me, Satan" (Mk 8:33), he wasn't so much rebuking Peter as he was the devil Peter was listening to. "Be self controlled and alert. Your enemy, the devil prowls around like a roaring lion looking for someone to devour."
(1 Pet 5:8)

 

[jean]

As said above, God is never silent, we just don't listen!

 

[SpiritLedEd]

As said above, God is never silent, we just don't listen!

I don't agree with those who say God is never silent. I prayed for several years for my wife to get saved. In 1998, He said he would do it, but He didn't say when. From then on, He was silent until Billy Graham came to town in 1997. that year, she went forward at one of his meetings.

Those intervening nine years were a long period of silence during which my faith was strengthened. God is often silent, but he is never absent from the situation.

SLE

 

[jean]

Oh I see, I would say that he had given you the answer and then was silent on that point. I know I had a terrible burden to pray for my husband for a long time after I was saved but then I had this wonderful experience of peace and release and 'felt' the Lord say, enough...now leave it with me. Which I did and the peace was wonderful. Years later I still pray for my husband but it's different and not as 'intense'. I have grown, as I trust we all do in our walk with God, God will force no-one into His kingdom we have to 'move on' and let things happen in Gods timing (difficult yes!) but be confident that He will give us the strength to bear whatever we must in this life, which can be very hard at times.
God bless
J

 

[Lone Angel]

Spirtual weak

I know everthing you say is true,but for some of us it can be super easy to push that button of self-centerness.I believe in jesus I try to be
christ-like real hard but it seems like I am always backsliding and lose ground right after I gained some.And I am ashamed that I too wonder why God is silent and why I can,t hear his voice

 

[jean]

Don't be too hard on yourself! Satan loves to condemn remember and the moment that crack appears, he tries to jump in with, see your no good, not worthy, never will be, your an (edited by LLJ) do you really think God loves you even when you mess up so...etc etc etc....tell him to back off (to put it politely) draw near to God and He will draw near to you, resist the devil and he WILL flee James 4:7. God knows we mess up, goodness me, and I don't think He expects us to attain perfection in this world, we grow, sometimes slowly, sometimes for our blessing and the blessing of others more quickly...but, we will make mistakes. God loves you unconditionally, will never leave or forsake you and even if He's quiet (to you) He is always there. Remember the 'poem' footprints? This is so true, don't let anyone pull you down. GOD Loves You so much, even when we fail, stumble, mess up. God bless you.

 

[ladylovesJesus]

This is what James 4.7 says:

7Submit yourselves therefore to God. Resist the devil, and he will flee from you.

Too many times the important part gets left out in this talk of resisting the devil.

James 4.

8 Come close to God, and God will come close to you.

When we do not eat we get weak and the same applies for our spiritual life. I f we do not read our Bible then we get spiritually weak. Just a thought sister.

God bless :rainbow: :rose:

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Re: ..When God seems silent/absent in a believer's life

I know everthing you say is true,but for some of us it can be super easy to push that button of self-centerness.I believe in jesus I try to be
christ-like real hard but it seems like I am always backsliding and lose ground right after I gained some.And I am ashamed that I too wonder why God is silent and why I can,t hear his voice

I presume you're talking about habitual sin in your life. Let me ask you, are you putting yourself in harm's way? Do you set yourself up for failure?Example: A newly sober recovering alcoholic setting himself/herself up for failure by lingering in the beer/whiskey aisle at the supermarket; A newly recovering male sex addict setting himself up for relapse by ogling the women in the Sports Illustrated magazine Swimsuit issue.

A man struggling with sexual addiction risks sliding back into lust the moment he decides to take that magazine off the news stand shelf. A newly sober alcoholic cannot hang out near the alcoholic beverage displays at the supermarket lest he fall prey to the allurements of John Barleycorn.

If you're having problems with emotional issues, seek professional Christian psychological counseling to get at the root of the problem.

To be sure, prayer is vital in rooting out sin, but it must be accompanied by action.It's just like weeding a garden: if you only break off the top portion of the weed and leave the taproot in the ground, it won't be long before the weed sprouts again and, if it goes to seed, you'll end up with more weeds than you started with.

"As the body without the spirit is dead, so faith without deeds is dead." (Jas 2:26).

SLE

 

[Rog]

True, sin in ones life causes the Lord to be silent. Sometimes we go to those dry places, and feel confused. Wondering where God is, having all kinds of doubts.
Not having our heart right with the Lord makes him silent. He has told us over and over what we need to do, but we refuse to listen. So he quits speaking until we do what we need to do first.

 

[Faith4Bride]

the first time i ever had one of these was terrible and lasted for months. afterward God showed me why- He puts us in such times, same as the israelits in the wilderness to see if we will still believe Him, still stand on what He has taught us, still walk by faith or if we will be as them and whine and complain, confess the bad confession in unbelief, belive He has left us to die.!

that was a hard and wonderful lesson that is much needed amen

 

[SpiritLedEd]

Re: ...when God is Silent/Absent..

A book I highly recommend on the subject of unanswered prayer is "God on Mute" by Pete Grieg (Published by Regal Books).

Well educated in theology, Pete thoroughly investigates the subject of unanswered prayer not from the angle of a seminary classroom lecture series, but from the crucible of personal experience. And he does it with a liberal sprinkling of the subtle British humor that I, personally, have always enjoyed.

I'm quite sure the book is still in print. I purchased my copy earlier this year and am in the process of reading it for the third time.

SLE