God’s Silence Is Not God’s Absence

Silence from God can feel like a closed door, especially when you’ve been praying hard and nothing seems to move. We sit with that tension and ask the honest question: how do we keep praying when nothing appears to be changing? From the first minutes, we anchor the struggle in Scripture and in real life, because the weariness is real and so is the temptation to quit. 

We walk through Luke 18, where Jesus gives the point up front: always pray and do not faint. That command isn’t harsh, it’s mercy. It tells us God already knows we’ll feel like giving up, and he’s calling us to keep showing up anyway. We also talk about what delayed answers require from us: patience, endurance, and confidence that isn’t tossed away when the calendar stretches. 

Then we get practical about discernment. “Wait,” “not yet,” and “no” can sound the same when you’re hurting, so we look at Paul’s repeated request in 2 Corinthians 12 and the surprising answer he receives: “My grace is sufficient for thee.” Sometimes God’s will is not removal, but sustaining power. We also name a danger that grows during long waits: bitterness. Hebrews 12 pushes us toward peace with others and holiness before God, so our hearts stay clean while we keep praying. When words fail, Romans 8 reminds us the Holy Spirit intercedes for us, and the Father understands what the Spirit is expressing. 

If you’re searching for Christian encouragement, persistent prayer, Bible teaching on unanswered prayer, or how to trust God’s timing, this conversation will steady you. Subscribe for more, share this with someone who’s waiting, and leave a review to help others find Prayer Radio.

Transcript

Welcome And App Update

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Good morning, good afternoon, or good evening. This is Mark John for Prayer Radio, sponsored by the Uncommon Christian Network dot com. We have a lot of things planned for you. The app is still very close to being finished, which you'll be able to download on both iOS and Android. Feel free to visit the website at uncommon Christian Network dot com.

When God Feels Silent

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What happens when God seems silent? The core question How do we keep praying when nothing appears to be changing? This is the challenge. You're praying, but nothing seems to be happening. What do

Always Pray And Don’t Quit

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you do? Luke eighteen is going to be the first verse that we're going to look at. I'm sure most of you are familiar with it. And he spake a parable to them unto this end, that men ought to always pray and not faint. This is interesting that right away we have something called deductive reasoning. Deductive means we're going to give you the point and then we're going to explain the point. And right away in Luke 18, he spoke a parable unto this end that men ought to always pray and not faint. So before the parable was even mentioned, the point was already given. And then we're going to double down on the point by the parable, and a parable just means called alongside. So here's a story caught alongside that main point. When the parable is given first, people can sometimes leave scratching their head because he doesn't even always give them the outcome. That is more of an inductive reasoning, but he doesn't always tell them the absolute. Here he starts with the absolute and then gives the explanation or a parable or a story caught alongside that point so that we don't miss. And the point was that we should always pray and not faint. When you hear something like we should not faint means you're going to have a temptation to do just that, you're going to have a temptation to faint, or in this case, give up. But he's already said, always pray and not faint. There's a realization by God that you're going to have a temptation to faint. Now there's an encouragement to keep going and not faint. Where in this case, just don't quit praying, even though nothing seems to be changing. We have Luke 18, 1 through 8, and we also have 1 Thessalonians 5 and 17, which is going to declare that we should pray without intermission.

Discern God’s Wait Or No

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But what happens when there is a delayed answer? We need faith for those delayed answers. In Hebrews 10 35, cast not away therefore your confidence, which has great recompense of reward. For you have need of patience that after you have done the will of God, that you might receive the promise. So once again we see that in this case, patience is now necessary. And when you think about the definition of love, love is long suffering, the first definition of love, according to Corinthians 13, is patience. Love is patient, and love is kind. So before love can even be kind, it has to be patient. And the word patient is long suffering. It takes time, it takes a while. So understand if love takes time, then answers can take time because God is love and God is taking his time. But we've already been encouraged by the Lord, don't faint. So we keep praying, even though nothing seems to be changing. We also have other references for this that we could look at, such as Habakkuk 2 and 3, Psalm 27, 13, and Hebrews 10 35. But we also need to have a little bit of discernment between God's answering saying, wait, no, or not yet. Sometimes they all sound the same. Wait or no or not yet. Second Corinthians 12, 8 through 9. For this thing I besought the Lord three times, that it might depart from me, and he said unto me, My grace is sufficient for thee. My strength is made perfect in weakness. Paul was talking about an ailment that he had. We've all listened to the scholars and nobody can fully agree. Some are going to say it was his eyesight, some say it was the travelers who were persecuting him. You're going to hear many things, but all we do know is that Paul prayed three times that God would take it away. After this third prayer, there was an answer. And the answer was clearly no. You might not hear the no, so let's look at the text where he says, My grace is sufficient for you, and my strength is made perfect in your weakness. When Paul walks away from that conversation, he's still walking away with whatever it was he was telling the Lord to take away. So in other words, the answer was no, but it came out as a very nice no by saying, My grace will get you through this. God is going to be saying that to some of us sometimes, and we just need to be able to realize that his grace is more sufficient for us than our answers, because the answer we want might not be his will for us. And so his grace is sufficient. And it doesn't seem like Paul here was praying for anything in a physical manner. He was praying for something to depart, something that was causing ailments, something that was hindering him in some sort of way. That's why there's such debate on what it was.

Don’t Let Bitterness Take Root

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And also notice that sometimes the weight can cause a little bit of an attitude, and that attitude can spring up into a bitterness. And the Bible is going to warn us in Hebrews twelve and fourteen, follow peace with all men and holiness. Follow peace, walk in peace with all men, and holiness, without which no man will see the Lord. Looking diligently, lest any man fail of the grace of God, lest any root of bitterness springing up trouble you, and therefore many be defiled. This is a very nice long sentence. Many parts and pieces all intertext and intermingled, so it's worth reading again. But he says that we have to start off with peace, we have to follow peace with all men. Walk in peace. And if you find that you have aught, he would even say, leave your gifts at the altar and go make peace. So making peace with all men is very important. It is foundational. That doesn't mean all people have to be in peace with you, but you need to be in peace with them. So follow peace with all men and holiness. He doesn't leave off holiness. Because without holiness, no one's going to see the Lord. So holiness is the purity of your eyes. Because holiness is purity, and so therefore, if you're walking in purity, your eyes are going to be pure, and we're talking about the inside eyes. When your inside eyes are pure, then you're going to be able to see the purity of the Lord, but without holiness no one will see the Lord. Looking diligently. Interesting that he uses the word looking here right after talking about the purity of the eyes because of the holiness. Looking diligently lest any man fail of the grace of God. Interesting concept. Paul would not enter into the debate. He just gave us his answer right there that people can't fail the grace of God, and lest any root of bitterness, and now we're at the bitterness, because people were not walking in peace, which would lead to people not walking in holiness. And then when they're not walking in holiness, then all of a sudden these attitudes can start to spring up, and that spring up is going to cause that bitterness which will then in turn defile many. References Job 1 and 20, Psalms 73, 21 through 26, in Hebrews 12, 14 and 15.

When You Can’t Find Words

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But we need to have confidence that the Spirit will help us when our words fail. Romans 8, 26 and 27 get used to the burst because it's so lovely. Likewise the Spirit also helps our infirmities, for we know not what we should pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself maketh intercession, let me say it better, the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us, it is in the neuter, with groanings which cannot be uttered. And he that searches the hearts knoweth what is the mind of the Spirit. So in this case, we're being comforted. Paul's writing that the Holy Spirit is going to be groaning with us because we don't know how to pray as we ought. But then he answers the rhetorical question, because somebody might say, Well, if the Holy Spirit is groaning and not using words, then how would God the Father know what the Holy Spirit is saying? And he says, But he, the Father who searches the hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit. He said, Don't worry about that part. That God has it. Don't worry about that. Because he knows the intention, he knows the mind of the Spirit, He knows the noose of the Spirit. And when he knows the mind of the Spirit, even though he's groaning, the words wouldn't even be necessary. I could give you multiple illustrations, but I think you gotta let's move on. But also take note that you could look at Jude 20 and Ephesians 6 and 18. So now we have an endurance to remain faithful before the answer comes. James 5, 7 and 8. Be patient, therefore, brethren, unto the coming of the Lord. Behold a husbandman waiteth for the precious fruit of the earth, and hath long patience for it. Be ye also patient and establish your hearts. James 5, 7 through 11, Galatians 6 and 9, Romans 12, 12. In other words, while we're waiting in peace and holiness, waiting for the Lord, in this case we're not talking about prayer, but for the Lord to return. But in the same way, we're going to have to be patient even for the answer to the prayer who's going to come from the Lord.

Confidence God Hears You

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And then in light of all of this, we want assurance that God still hears us. And so 1 John steps in, 1 John 5 and 14, and this is the confidence what we have in him, that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. Notice the if it's a conditional statement. If we ask according to his will. Now you would think that Paul was asking earlier for something according to God's will, because whatever it was was bothering Paul, and he asked three times for it to go, and God said, And through Christ my grace is sufficient. So Paul was heard, and that is the confidence we have in him. That if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. Notice where it says that. And if we know that he hears us, whatsoever we ask, we know that we have the petitions of that which we desired of him. Psalm 34 and 15, 1 John 5, 14, and Daniel 10, 12. But it is important to know again, like in Paul's situation, that whatever the answer was that Paul wanted, which was something to depart, we know that the Lord heard, and we know that the Lord answered, and we know that the Lord answered with grace, and my grace is sufficient for you in this manner. That answer may not come in the way you expect. But let's always be expecting an answer when you pray according to his will. And finally, I want you to have peace while you're waiting.

Peace That Guards Your Heart

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Philippians 4, 6 and 7 makes this clear clear. Be careful for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, always with thanksgiving, let your request be made known unto God, and the peace of God. Just like we have peace with people, the peace of God with passes all understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Yeshua, Christ Jesus. Philippians 4, 6 and 7, Isaiah 26, 3 and 4, Psalm 62, 5 and 8. So what is the main point? God's silent. God's silence is not God's absence. And we just learned the proper attitude about peace and holiness and notice you're always going to hear the fruit. So in other words, remain faithful in the fruit when you're praying, so that you do not faint. And know that if you're praying his will, that he hears you, and know that the answer is on the way. So don't faint. Keep walking in peace. Don't let bitterness take root. Don't start doubting God. But doubt that doubt can take you away. And the peace of God, which passes your understanding, will guard your heart and mind along the way, which is the fruit of the Spirit, that we stay walking in so that we do not faint. And then when the answer comes, we will recognize it as Him hearing us. And we have this confidence in Him that this will continue. And we allow Him to answer according to His will. Until next time.

Prayer Requests And Closing

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If you have a prayer request, text it to 747-4 Prayer. 747-4 Prayer. Or you can call and leave a voicemail and somebody will pray and agree with you. And we're going to pray according to His will. Feel free to visit the website, uncommon Christian Network.com. Be looking forward to the apps. We'll talk to you soon.