What to Do When God is Silent

Do you ever feel like God is silent?

Is there something you’ve been asking of Him for a long time – perhaps weeks, months, years or even decades – but haven’t yet seen Him at work, or even heard Him reply?

It’s easy for us to sense God’s presence when He is active and moving in the face of improbable odds. A miraculous healing that leaves doctors stunned. An estranged family member who reaches out to reconcile. The sudden conversion of a friend you never thought would turn to faith. The generosity of a stranger who provides exactly what you need.

But often, we can pray and seemingly hear back only one thing: silence. The louder you pray, the more deafening the silence becomes.

In these instances, we cry as Job did:

“Behold, I go forward, but he is not there,
and backward, but I do not perceive him;
on the left hand when he is working, I do not behold him;
he turns to the right hand, but I do not see him” (Job 23:8-9, ESV).

Struggling to see God’s activity isn’t uncommon or unusual.

C.S. Lewis, after losing his wife, wrote in A Grief Observed,

When you are happy … if you remember yourself and turn to Him with gratitude and praise, you will be – or so it feels – welcomed with open arms.

But go to Him when your need is desperate, when all other help is vain, and what do you find? A door slammed in your face, and a sound of bolting and double bolting on the inside. After that, silence.

Yet, over time, Lewis realized that God had been with him – even, or perhaps especially, in the silence. He came to feel that “the door is no longer shut and bolted.”

“Was it my own frantic need that slammed it in my face?” Lewis wondered. “The time when there is nothing at all in your soul except a cry for help may be just the time when God can’t give it: you are like the drowning man who can’t be helped because he clutches and grabs.”

So, if you’re a Christian struggling with God’s silence, here’s three things to keep in mind.

First, keep praying. Prayer can be our lifeline in times of trouble.

God works miracles through prayer. And praying helps us trust that God is always at work to bring about his providential plan, even when we can’t see His activity.

As we read in Psalm 46:1-3,

“God is our refuge and strength,
a very present help in trouble.
Therefore we will not fear though the earth gives way,
though the mountains be moved into the heart of the sea,
though its waters roar and foam,
though the mountains tremble at its swelling” (ESV).

Encouraging Christians to keep praying is the purpose of musician Matthew West’s song “Don’t Stop Praying,” which you can listen to below:

Second, surround yourselves with faithful family and friends who can encourage, support and pray for you. Make sure you’re involved in a good church. Often, God works through those around us – so make encounters with fellow Christians frequent and intentional.

Third, remember that no matter how your present circumstances may make you feel, God is not silent.

Indeed, He has responded to our cries of need, our sin, and our suffering by answering us in the most intimate and profound way possible: through the sending of His Son into our story, our problems and our pain. That’s what more liturgical denominations celebrate on March 25 – the Feast of the Annunciation, remembering the Archangel Gabriel’s appearance to Mary.

“Though [Christ] was in the form of God, [He] did not count equality with God a thing to be grasped, but emptied himself, by taking the form of a servant, being born in the likeness of men. And being found in human form, he humbled himself by becoming obedient to the point of death, even death on a cross” (Phil. 2:6-8, ESV).

Eminent Christian philosopher Alvin Plantinga says it well:

As the Christian sees things, God does not stand by, coolly observing the suffering of his creatures. He enters into and shares our suffering. He endures the anguish of seeing his son, the second person of the Trinity, consigned to the bitterly cruel and shameful death of the cross.

Likewise, in his book Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering, Pastor Tim Keller reflected,

In Jesus Christ we see that God actually experiences the pain of the fire as we do. He truly is God with us, in love and understanding, in our anguish.

He plunged himself into our furnace so that, when we find ourselves in the fire, we can turn to him and know we will not be consumed.

If you’re struggling with God’s silence, remember to keep praying, lean on your family and friends, and look to Jesus Christ who is the “founder and perfecter of our faith” (Heb. 12:2, ESV).

If you’re struggling and need someone to talk with and pray for you, please don’t hesitate to give us a call at 1-800-A-FAMILY (232-6459) weekdays from 6 AM – 8 PM MT.

You can also request a conversation with Focus on the Family’s Counseling Department by calling 1-855-771-HELP (4357) weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. (Mountain Time) or completing our Counseling Consultation Request Form.

Related articles and resources:

Counseling Consultation & Referrals

Walking With God Through Trials

Finding God’s Goodness Even in Suffering (Part 1 of 2)

Learning to be Honest With God

Why Does God Allow Evil?

Trusting God in the Hard Times

Walking with God Through Pain and Suffering

Why Does God Let Bad Things Happen?

C.S. Lewis and Answers to the Problem of Pain

In Our Fallen and Suffering World, Take Refuge in the Lord

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