When God seems silent

In my post yesterday I spoke of the spiritual significance of understanding the moment we are in as a pregnant pause. Before I continue to blog about what I'm hearing from the Lord regarding this pregnancy, today I wanted to write a note of encouragement about what to do in those times when we feel like God is silent. If you could add in the comments, the things you do when God seems silent and what He has taught you through your experience of His silence, that would be super helpful for all of us!

If you have some time to marinate today on the verses I've included in this post, I believe You will hear the Lord speaking to you through them.

God is never silent: God the Father speaks, Jesus is the Word and Holy Spirt is the life-giving power in the Word

First off I want to point out that God is never silent but always speaking. We know that even if we don't hear Him in the way we expect or want to hear Him, we always have access to His voice.

He speaks naturally in and through creation so that His voice is at all times going forth into all the world. See this passage in Psalm 19:

¹ The heavens declare the glory of God;
    the skies proclaim the work of his hands.
² Day after day they pour forth speech;
    night after night they reveal knowledge.
³ They have no speech, they use no words;
    no sound is heard from them.
⁴ Yet their voice goes out into all the earth,
    their words to the ends of the world.

Secondly, Jesus is the very Word of God. God speaks. It's what He does. His Words are an actual being, and that being is Jesus. When He speaks His very words are Jesus. So every time He speaks those words manifest into a reality. If He speaks "tree," for example, "tree" becomes a thing. In Genesis 1, the pattern is God says, and it was so.

¹ In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God. ² He was in the beginning with God. ³ All things were made through Him, and without Him nothing was made that was made. ⁴ In Him was life, and the life was the light of men. ⁵ And the light shines in the darkness, and the darkness did not comprehend it. John 1:1-5 NKJV

His children who have been born of the Spirit have the mind of Christ, can hear the voice of Jesus and will follow Him.

²⁷ My sheep hear My voice, and I know them, and they follow Me.  John 10:26NKJV

Holy Spirit is our teacher as well as the life-giving power present in the Word bringing it to pass. Holy Spirit is embedded in the Word which is Jesus. So as you read the Word of God, the Word is dwelling in you richly by the power of Holy Spirit which brings the Word to life inside of you.

⁹ But as it is written:

“Eye has not seen, nor ear heard,
Nor have entered into the heart of man
The things which God has prepared for those who love Him.”

¹⁰ But God has revealed them to us through His Spirit. For the Spirit searches all things, yes, the deep things of God. ¹¹ For what man knows the things of a man except the spirit of the man which is in him? Even so no one knows the things of God except the Spirit of God. ¹² Now we have received, not the spirit of the world, but the Spirit who is from God, that we might know the things that have been freely given to us by God.

¹³ These things we also speak, not in words which man’s wisdom teaches but which the Holy Spirit teaches, comparing spiritual things with spiritual. ¹⁴ But the natural man does not receive the things of the Spirit of God, for they are foolishness to him; nor can he know them, because they are spiritually discerned. ¹⁵ But he who is spiritual judges all things, yet he himself is rightly judged by no one. ¹⁶ For “who has known the mind of the Lord that he may instruct Him?” But we have the mind of Christ. 1 Corinthians 2: 9-16

God and His speech are inseperable. When He speaks His Word does not return to Him void, meaning it will accomplish what He sent it to do. This is because Holy Spirit power is inherent in His Word to bring it to fruition. His words are never idle words. God is NEVER impotent.

So shall My word be that goes forth from My mouth;
It shall not return to Me void,
But it shall accomplish what I please,
And it shall prosper in the thing for which I sent it. Isaiah 55:11 NKJV

What to do when God seems silent

Below I have written down some of the things the Lord has taught me to do to make sure I am hearing Him well. And they serve as course corrections when I am not. Hopefully they will help you when you are struggling.

1. First repent. If you read my last post you will know that I do this part a lot. It is a daily and continual practice of mine. (Well, I take communion every day and you for sure can't engage in communion without repenting.) I let the Word of God lead me to repentance. I let the Spirit of God search me and expose my heart. And I confess any known or suspected issues I am already aware of.

• Repent of believing He is silent.
• Repent of trying to force Him to speak on what you want Him to speak about instead of listening to what He is actually saying. He is not a magic 8 ball.
• Repent of not meditating on His word day and night.
• Repent of not stewarding properly words He has given you in the past.
• Repent of being disobedient or ignoring the prompting of Holy Spirit.
• Repent of any way in which you are out of alignment with His good, pleasing or perfect will.

2. Get into His Word. Read the Word of the Lord every day. Have a discipline of scripture reading. Have a plan. But also be open to hearing additionally whatever He wants to say. Ask God if there is something He wants you to read in His Word.
3. Always ask Holy Spirit to open the scriptures to reveal to you the mind of Christ. Do not read the scripture apart from Him. Allow Him to expose, correct and reveal hidden mysteries.
4. Tear down strongholds. You cannot properly receive truth if you are not allowing the Word of God to destroy mental strongholds which are lies. They may have started as a whisper from the enemy. But if we do not immediately take every thought captive and make it obedient to Christ, it will develop into an entire mental construct that leads us away from truth. The enemy has spent our entire lives whispering lies to us about who we are, about how God thinks about us, about who God is, about what we are capable of, etc. And more than anything He will make you question every day if God is really good.

⁴ For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, ⁵ casting down arguments and every high thing that exalts itself against the knowledge of God, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ... 2 Corinthians 10:4-5

5. Declare the Word. Life and death are in the power of the tongue. You are created in the image of God. Humans were given dominion over the earth. That means that only humans have the power of creative speech on this earth. Every word you speak is a seed. And when you sow it, it will produce a harvest for good or for evil. Stop speaking and declaring bad things. And be diligent to declare the Word. Sow good seed. I'll give you some examples below of seeds I sow liberally into every area and into my very being.

• John 10:10 - Everywhere the enemy has stolen, killed or destroyed in my life, I declare I am now receiving the abundant life Jesus died to release to me.

¹⁰ The thief does not come except to steal, and to kill, and to destroy. I have come that they may have life, and that they may have it more abundantly.

• Matthew 15:13 - Every evil seed sown in my life be uprooted. Every evil seed sown in my body be uprooted. I curse every every evil tree bearing bad fruit in my life from my bloodline. I curse the root, I curse the fruit. I curse the trees, I curse the seeds.

¹³ But He answered and said, “Every plant which My heavenly Father has not planted will be uprooted.

• Genesis 1:3 - Let there be light. Wherever there is darkness in my understanding, let there be light. Wherever there is darkness in my vision, in my sight, let there be light. Wherever there is darkness in my hearing, let there be light. Wherever there is darkness in my heart, let there be light. Wherever there is darkness in my body, let there be light. Wherever there is darkness in my life, let there be light.

³ And God said, “Let there be light,” and there was light.

6. Fast and discipline your body and soul. Sometimes we don't hear the voice of God because our flesh is too loud. Maybe we aren't eating well, or exercising, or getting enough sleep. If we don't take care of our body, our flesh can get out of whack. Do we discipline our will by letting the Spirit lead how we spend our money, how we spend our time and how we use our gifts? If our souls are not led by God our mind, will and emotions will be out of whack. If we do not allow our human spirit to lead our souls and our souls to govern our bodies, we will be out of alignment. Fasting is a good place to start.
7. Do the Word. Act on what you know. This is obedience. Holy Spirit honors obedience and will speak to you more.

Those are just some thoughts about how I handle seasons where I feel like I'm not hearing from God. Stay steady. The Lord wants to know you are seriously seeking His face, not His hand. Show you are more interested in His will than your own. And sometimes this means even getting quiet about the things He does not appear to be answering you on and instead saying, "Ok, Lord, what do You want to talk about?" If we read His Word, we will find ourselves hearing His heart and knowing what He wants to speak to us about. This begins to order our priorities and to order us.

Would love to hear your thoughts on this and what you do when God seems silent. What works for you?

A psalm of David.

¹ Ascribe to the Lord, you heavenly beings,
    ascribe to the Lord glory and strength.
² Ascribe to the Lord the glory due his name;
    worship the Lord in the splendor of his^[a] holiness.

³ The voice of the Lord is over the waters;
    the God of glory thunders,
    the Lord thunders over the mighty waters.
⁴ The voice of the Lord is powerful;
    the voice of the Lord is majestic.
⁵ The voice of the Lord breaks the cedars;
    the Lord breaks in pieces the cedars of Lebanon.
⁶ He makes Lebanon leap like a calf,
    Sirion^[b] like a young wild ox.
⁷ The voice of the Lord strikes
    with flashes of lightning.
⁸ The voice of the Lord shakes the desert;
    the Lord shakes the Desert of Kadesh.
⁹ The voice of the Lord twists the oaks^[c]
    and strips the forests bare.
And in his temple all cry, “Glory!”

¹⁰ The Lord sits enthroned over the flood;
    the Lord is enthroned as King forever.
¹¹ The Lord gives strength to his people;
    the Lord blesses his people with peace. Psalm 29 NKJV

Lord, Your voice is powerful. Your voice is Jesus. Your voice reigns over all that exists. May we hear Your constant speech that is going on in the world and know that in truth, You are never silent with us. We always have access to Your mind and to Your heart through Your precious Word. Holy Spirit, guide us into all truth we pray. In Jesus's Name.

Amen, Lord! Let it be to your servant as You have spoken.