“O Lord, how long will you forget me? Forever? How long will you look the other way? How long must I struggle with anguish in my soul, with sorrow in my heart every day? How long will my enemy have the upper hand? Turn and answer me, O Lord my God! Restore the sparkle to my eyes, or I will die.”

A good friend of mine recently texted me about a situation in his life, which he has been prayerfully seeking direction from God. He exposited how he felt like God just wasn’t speaking to him and how he was feeling loneliness, fear, and shame. In the absence of hearing God’s voice, he has been desperately trying to control the situation on his own. Trying to control it has only caused devastation. This reminded me of an event in Elijah’s life (1 Kings 18 & 19). Elijah had successfully confronted the prophets of Baal, which angered Jezebel to the point of wanting him killed. Elijah was devastated, alone, and afraid. He took matters into his own hands and fled into the wilderness. He looked for God’s voice in the loud crashing wind, in the quaking of the earth, and in the wildfires; but God wasn’t speaking through those. Finally, in a still, small, and silent voice, God spoke. I quickly reminded my brother that while he can’t be in control, he does know the One who is in control. I encouraged him to embrace the quietness of God and pay attention to it. In truth, I was speaking to myself maybe even more than to my friend.   

What does it mean to pay attention to the quietness of God? You see, to us, we automatically view silence as a bad thing. Our culture celebrates noise. If there is silence between friends or lovers, it can be viewed as awkward or a lack of interest; however, just as plausible is the reality that in the silence, there is deep intimacy. I have read in scripture where God says He wants to vomit up our needless noise; however, I have never encountered a scripture where our silence before God wasn’t deeply treasured by Him. I do not think God ever views silence as a bad thing. Considering this, why do we view God’s silence as a bad thing?

Silence embodies a sharp dualistic nature; in that it can be both problematic and a great delight. Silence can be equally devastating, yet powerfully nurturing; it is miserably feeble, yet essentially crucial; it is equally the absence of something and the presence something. It is both the deep longing for and the intense intimacy with.  Silence is nether comforting nor inadequate, but impartially both. 

I want to address two things:  first, when God seems to be silent; and secondly, our need to be silent before God.

The psalmist, in Psalm 13:1-3, was experiencing what we may recognize as a time of God’s silence. He was facing a hardship, a time of deep anguish and sorrow, a time when his enemies seemed to be having victory over him. Whatever his distress was, it is clear he felt alone and forgotten. I have had moments in my own life, and am even in one now, where God seemed very far away, where the anguish almost seemed unbearable, and where my enemies appeared to have the upper hand, taking full advantage of their position. I experienced what the psalmist experienced. I cried out to God for help, for His resolution, for a small speck of hope to grab onto – but instead, I felt utterly forgotten and ignored. I can’t imagine this was the first time the psalmist prayed this, and it may not have been his last. Even so, he still believed God was faithful – even in the silence. He still believed God would listen. In desperation he cried out for God to turn towards him and answer his cries.

Asking God to turn implies that God had first turned His back on the psalmist. We know in scripture God never turns His back on those who are called by His Name. As believers in Jesus Christ, we are adopted into God’s family as His sons and daughters. We now have His Name and share in Christ’s inheritance. As children of God, we have been given promises that He will never leave us or forsake us; we have full access to Him all the time; we can boldly ask Him for the things that our on our heart. There is nothing that can separate us from His love. God has not, nor will He ever turn His back towards you.

Then, why is He silent? I have heard some say that God is never silent, that He is always talking to us. We just aren’t in a place where we are able to truly listen. I find myself mostly in agreement with this statement, so far as we have His written Word, His logos, and that Word is alive and active. As we read the Word, we will always encounter truth and life.

However, where I come into disagreement with this statement concerns the rhema. The rhema is a specific word the Holy Spirit gives that applies to the uniqueness of our situation.  There are indeed times where God remains silent. Where the rhema is absent. Yet, His quietness should not be seen as a lack of interest, or a sign of our forgottenness; rather, it is a sign of His secret activity. The agency of God is never inactive – it is never not working. Consider this – when you are working, do you stop to tell your co-workers or customers everything you are doing, as you do it? No. You get to work, and you do the job. There is no time to stop and talk. God does the same thing. He is busy working His secret activity on your behalf. We need to realize, before God went silent, He most likely gave us a word, or put us in a safe place. It is on that word and in that place where we need to remain – to plant ourselves – and to stay the course until we hear Him speak again. Resting in the last word God spoke over you, as well as the place God has prepared for you while you are in silent waiting, is the first part of embracing the quietness of God.

In the quietness, intimacy develops. Recently, God has been challenging me to spend more time in silence before Him. This may seem counter-productive, as we tend to think we need to speak our requests and pour out the concerns and desires of our heart to Him. However, this mentality turns prayer into a one-sided conversation and makes God out to be a divine Santa Clause, existing only to give us what we want. What God desires is a deep, interpersonal relationship with us, where both parties give and receive. God loves it when we come into His presence with a quiet attitude. Our quietness expresses our trust and our love. It means we understand He is who He says He is. There is no utterance of words necessary, for God knows intimately all our concerns and desires. We can trust Him with every longing, every thought, every heartbreak, and every hope. In His presence, we are free to be speechless. We are free to delight in being in His presence. Psalm 46:10 famously reminds what God has said to us, “Be still and know that I am God. I will be exalted…”

When I am quiet before God, I am demonstrating my love for Him and my trust in Him. I am surrendering my need to control and my need to voice my heart. My silence becomes a precious act of worship and devotion. In my silence, I am loudly declaring that God is sovereign. My silence exalts Him.  In my silence before God, His presence can mold me. My spiritual ears become more attuned to the sound of His voice and my spiritual eyes become more aware of His movement. The intimacy that silence produces restores the sparkle to our eyes.