God is sometimes silent because He knows we aren't willing to obey. He is always ready to show us His will, but He shows His will only to those who really want to do it. Jesus said in John 7:17, "If anyone wants to do His will, he shall know concerning the doctrine." Obedient people always hear the voice of God.
It means that there is something better than knowing all the answers: knowing and trusting the only One who does know and will never forsake us (Hebrews 13:5). Trusting God when we don't hear him ultimately strengthens and purifies us.
Scripture tells us that silence can help us avoid sinning (Proverbs 10:19), gain respect (Proverbs 11:12), and is deemed wise and intelligent (Proverbs 17:28). In other words, you may be blessed by holding your tongue. Ultimately, refraining from speaking in certain situations means we are practicing self-control.
Just because God seems silent doesn't mean you should doubt Him or stop praying. God's silence isn't a license for us to turn our backs on Him. Instead, it's an invitation to press forward and seek Him even more diligently. The psalmists modeled crying out to God.
- As long as your prayers are for selfish motives, driven by pride hidden in your heart, God will not answer them. - Other versions start this verse with “don't be anxious” in place of “Be careful…” - Once you know God has said yes, you know you will receive it.
The silent practice of contemplative prayer guides us toward resting in the fullness of God and God's love. It's a peaceful practice that pulls us away from striving, fear, and defending boundaries.
“Being quiet is, in some way, equivalent to keeping your mouth shut—not making your voice heard. But being silent is more about entering a sacred place within yourself,” she says. “When you're silent, an inner sanctuary opens up and your mind calms down and is freed from the endless cycle of thinking.
Silence is easier to define than solitude. In the spiritual realm, it is not the literal absence of all noise, but the absence of all human-created stimuli. “Human-created” because most would consider a walk in the woods, in which the sounds of nature are present, to still be a time of “silence.”
When God hides His face, one of two things will happen: either we will begin to long for Him, like David and Job, or we will rest content without His presence. The proof that a person loves God is that you cannot be happy unless you're near Him. The person without the Spirit knows nothing of this.
It is possible to worship God in complete silence. One of Scripture's most beautiful paradoxes is that wordlessness can speak clearly about God's glory. We honor God when were are in awe of him.
When you cannot hear God, you will find that He has trusted you in the most intimate way possible— with absolute silence, not a silence of despair, but one of pleasure, because He saw that you could withstand an even bigger revelation.
The benefits: Silence is the opportunity to listen to our life. It is like bird watching, you don't go searching for birds you go and sit and wait for them to appear. It is the waiting in the quiet that actually feeds our soul. It is paying attention to our life, that is the ultimate goal of the spiritual journey.
Silence can be a very powerful way to “be” with another person, especially when they are troubled. It can communicate acceptance of the other person as they are as of a given moment, and particularly when they have strong feelings like sorrow, fear or anger.
With all of the constant noise you hear on a day-to-day basis, embracing silence can help stimulate your brain and help you process information. It can also help you become more self-aware and relieve stress. Embracing silence may also help you settle into the present moment and quiet any racing thoughts.
Silence calls us out of the noise of the world and acts as a threshold into the holy space of worship.
Through the scriptures, we are taught that God will always hear our prayers and will answer them if we address Him with faith and real intent. In our hearts we will feel the confirmation that He does hear us, a feeling of peace and calm.
The simple answer is yes, God hears your prayers. An ever-present, all-knowing God will hear every word from your mouth, thought in your mind and whisper of your heart. But there are some things that might affect whether He answers.
I've heard it said that God answers prayers in one of three ways. God says “Yes,” and you receive what you ask for. God says “No,” and you have to accept it and move on. Or God says “Not Yet,” and you learn to be patient and wait.
For me, silence conveys more than words because in the silence there is a profoundness: respect, awe, fear. In the silence, we can connect with our true feelings and ourselves, and this can be daunting. It is in the silence we have to come to terms with what we are facing.
Sometimes, words are not all they are cracked up to be. Silence can yield more power than words. Inventor and artist Leonardo da Vinci said, “Nothing strengthens authority so much as silence.” Leaders know how to use silence as a tactic for speaking up for themselves and as an opportunity to lead.
Yes. Our God is a relational God, and one of His chief desires is to grow His relationship with humanity through regular communication. Throughout human history, God has initiated communication with humanity by speaking audibly to humans. He also speaks to us through the glory of His creation.