When God is silent in response to our prayers, while He Himself encourages us to call on Him in our struggles, it is because either He is acting in His sovereignty, performing that which is best for us, or He is sanctifying us, or calling our attention to hidden sins. The Psalmist wrote, If I regard iniquity in my heart, the Lord will not hear me (Ps. 66:18). That is, guilty of known sin but continuing practicing it. In order for peace to reign in our troubled heart and our relationship to be restored with God, it is necessary to test and examine our ways, and return to the Lord; to lift up our hearts and our hands to God in heaven, acknowledging that we have transgressed and rebelled against Him (Lam. 3) confessing our sins to be forgiven. A heart that is repentant, the Lord will not forsake it, said David. If that is the reason why God remains silent to our prayers, that will be a good start. A church that embraces false teachings, has separated itself from God and have alienated itself from receiving His blessings in having their prayers answered. Behold, the Lord’s hand is not shortened at all, that it cannot save, not His ear dull with deafness that it cannot hear; but your iniquities have made a separation between you and your God, and your sins have hidden His face from you, so that He will not hear (Isaiah 59:1-2).
We blame God for not answering our prayers; for this reason, many deny His existence, disregarding their sinful life-style as a result of God’s silence to their prayers. The holiness of our God does not mingle with sin; there is no relationship with Him if we choose the world’s life-style, instead of observing His commandments. God is not a robot to do things we want Him to do, the way we want Him to do. In this world there are many gods people chose to worship. But none of them is the true supreme GOD, the Creator and Ruler of the universe, Eternal and Infinite, All- Powerful, All -Knowing, etc. etc. When we try to approach Him, we must do it realizing that His presence is holy ground. Enter His presence in awe of Him in humbleness and adoration, shoes off in submission to what He has to say. His love will embrace you, bringing you close to Him, for He is a Father to those who love Him. YAHSHUA said, “What man is there of you, if his son asks him for a loaf of bread, will hand him a stone? Or if he asks for a fish, will hand him a serpent? If you then evil as you are, know how to give good and advantageous gifts to your children, how much more will your Father Who is in heaven give good and advantageous things to those who keep on asking Him!” (Matt.7:9-11). When telling the disciples the parable of the widow, YAHSHUA concluded by saying, “And will not God defend and protect and avenge His elect, who cry to Him day and night? Will He defer them and delay help on their behalf? I tell you, He will defend and protect and avenge them speedily…” (Luke 18: 1-8). In our suffering, He will rock our cradle until the storm passes by, provided that we are walking with Him. God’s silence does not mean He has given us a deaf ear; No, to the contrary, He is closer to us, but He must do what it takes to sanctify us. The process of sanctification is slow, otherwise, we would not be able to endure it. The secret of contentment is submission to His will. When God is silent, that will be the time to be still before Him until He directs us to the next step in our walking with Him. The Prophet Habakkuk said, “It is good that one should wait quietly for the salvation of the Lord” (2:20).
Light from the Word 