When Silence is All You Have

When Silence is All You Have
by David Brenneman

"I called him but he did not answer me." Song of Solomon 5:6c.

      Prayer sometimes waits, like a beggar at the palace gate, until the King comes out to give her the blessings she seeks. The Lord, when He has given great faith, has been known to test that faith with long delays. He has allowed His servants ' voices to echo in their ears as if from a sky of brass. They have knocked at at the the golden gate, but it has been immovable, as though it were rusted on its hinges. Like Jeremiah, they have cried, "You have hidden yourself in a cloud so our prayers cannot reach you (Lamentations 3:44 NLT).
      True saints have continued in long, patient waiting without a reply-- not because their prayers were weak or because they were unaccepted, but because it pleased Him as a sovereign Lord. He gives according to His own pleasure. Shouldn't He do as He chooses with His own people?  Beggars must not
be choosers as to the time, place, or form of God's answers.
      But we must also be a careful not to assume that delay in God's answers is denial. God's bills will be paid on time; we must not allow Satan to emphasize unanswered prayers and shake our confidence in the God of truth.
      Unanswered petitions are not unheard. God keeps a file for our prayers they are not blown away by the wind, they are treasured in the King's archives. There is a registry in the court of heaven where every prayer is recorded.
      Frustrated believer, your Lord has a bottle in which the tears of your sacred grief are stored, and a book in which your holy groaning is recorded (see Psalm 56:8). In time, your appeal will prevail. Can't you be content to wait a a little while? Won't your Lord's timing be better than yours? Before long He will appear, to your soul's great joy and comfort. He will make you put away the sackcloth and ashes of long waiting, and put on the fine, scarlet linen of your prayers' realization.
-C.H. Spurgeon Morning and Evening.

We are absolutely going to go through seasons of life where we think that it's too quiet between us and Jesus.  That our prayers don't seem to be noticed by Him.  That maybe there's something wrong with us.  Down the rabbit hole of emotions we go.

Let's begin where we should, shall we?

"Commit your way to the Lord, Trust also in Him, and He will do it." Psalms 37:5.

"Trust in the Lord with all your heart And do not lean on your own understanding.  In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He will make your paths straight.  Do not be wise in your own eyes; Fear the Lord and turn away from evil.  It will be healing to your body And refreshment to your bones." Proverbs 3:5-8.

"For I know the plans that I have for you,’ declares the Lord, ‘plans for welfare and not for calamity to give you a future and a hope.  Then you will call upon Me and come and pray to Me, and I will listen to you.  You will seek Me and find Me when you search for Me with all your heart." Jeremiah 29:11-13.

"There is an appointed time for everything. And there is a time for every event under heaven—A time to give birth and a time to die; A time to plant and a time to uproot what is planted.  A time to kill and a time to heal; A time to tear down and a time to build up.  A time to weep and a time to laugh; A time to mourn and a time to dance.  A time to throw stones and a time to gather stones; A time to embrace and a time to shun embracing.  A time to search and a time to give up as lost; A time to keep and a time to throw away.  A time to tear apart and a time to sew together; A time to be silent and a time to speak.  A time to love and a time to hate; A time for war and a time for peace." Ecclesiastes 3:1-8.

"For you have need of endurance, so that when you have done the will of God, you may receive what was promised." Hebrews 10:36.

"Be devoted to one another in brotherly love; give preference to one another in honor;  not lagging behind in diligence, fervent in spirit, serving the Lord;  rejoicing in hope, persevering in tribulation, devoted to prayer, contributing to the needs of the saints, practicing hospitality." Romans 12:10-13.

"I wait for the Lord, my soul does wait, And in His word do I hope." Psalms 130:5.

These passages, plus the keeping of their respective contexts, are from a search in the Bible app on trusting His timing.

Let us also not forget “For My thoughts are not your thoughts, Nor are your ways My ways,” declares 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." Isaiah 55:8-9.

Reflect on this: "Give me your heart, my son, And let your eyes delight in my ways." Proverbs 23:26.

As I am attempting to write down the testimony of my life in Christ for my book, it's important to recognize the fingerprints of God.

My Dear Reader if indeed you are saved in Christ Jesus His fingerprints are all over your heart and life.  There's nothing that involves your growing in Christ that doesn't have His finishing touches on it concerning you.

Whether or not we perceive His working in our lives, He is.  Whether or not we understand the delays or the no's, we don't need this perception or this understanding in order to trust and obey.

A family Doctor brought his daughter to work one day.  He had her stay in his office while he saw his patients.  An elderly man was being seen and they were talking about God and how He understands our needs before we know and we should trust Him in providing.  The elderly man wasn't quite getting it. After all we were indeed supposed to work at life.  There was a gentle knock at the door that lead to his office.  The Doctor bid them come.  It was obviously his daughter but he introduced her just the same.  She made sure to get her Dad's attention by pointing to her shoes.  He simply smiled and said ok, when he was done they would go take care of it.  She just hugged him and said goodbye to the patient and went back to playing in the office with the door closed.  The Doctor saw the somewhat confused look on his patient's face.  He explained that just like our going to the Father for what we're praying for such did his daughter just now.  She had let him know that she would like new shoes and he let her know that he would take care of her at a better time.  She believed me and is going about her day until my timing is right. 

In much the same way we need to recognize Jesus's supreme authority in our lives.  Not just as our personal Lord and Savior but as our provider.  We don't know what He has in mind for you and I.  There could be something greater in mind for us or that something He's planning would be disruptioned by our answer in that moment.

Remember, my Dear Reader, our personal comfort isn't His highest priority for us. His priority is that our lives would glorify His Father.  We are promised that only through various trials and tribulations that we would enter into Heaven.  We're simply not going to get everything we wish for nor should we expect to.  We're not going to get what we want when we want it just because we want it.

Our lives in Christ may seem quiet.  But we by no means should take that to mean that He's not working.

I love watching woodworking shows and videos.  Many times a woodworker must glue and clamp a piece and patiently wait until the time is right to go further.

We also sometimes ask in prayer for probably really good things.  In another time in history likely really really beneficial things.  But in the time in which we live the answer we want would conflict with the work of God in either our lives or the present or future lives of people destined for salvation in Christ Jesus.

I have actually had many opportunities denied and have been told by the Spirit in response to some of my desires in prayer that very thing.   While my ideas would in fact work they would mess up what He's doing with mankind.

Your life in Christ is destined to be an abundant life.  As Mark Lowry said, first you have to know what life is.  It's a running series of ups and downs, highs and lows, mountains and valley's.  When you come to Christ, everything is amplified.  Higher highs and lower lows, greater mountain peaks and lower valley's.  It's life more abundant. 

Silence isn't necessarily a no.

God answers all prayers.
It's either a yes, a no, a not right now or wait, I have something better in mind.

We must trust that core truth that Jesus is the promise keeper.

When we see His hands and when we don’t. 

We must really remember that in these seasons of potential uncertainty that His love for us has never and can never change.

As it's written, be sure of your salvation, then live it out.

We must trust that He knows best.
We must not walk by sight but by faith.
We must remember He has His best in mind for each of us whether we can comprehend it or not.

Don't give up praying.  Daniel prayed a long time before his response came.  Jesus eluded to much prayer being required to cast out some kinds of demons.  We are taught that the fervent prayers of a righteous man can accomplish much.  Fervent implies persistent, consistent.

Don't give up on God your Savior.  He will never give up on you.

Don't despair of your present condition but keep the right attitude in mind of praising Him in the storm. 

Jesus loves me this I know.
For the Bible tells me so.

All NASB Scripture Excerpts used by permission.
New American Standard Bible
(C) 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995 by the Lockman Foundation.
A corporation not for profit.  
La Habra, CA All rights reserved
www.lockman.org