Living by FaithSample

The God Who Hears

Have you ever tried to contact someone repeatedly without any success? You have left multiple voice mails, sent numerous text messages and a dozen missed calls, yet you don’t hear from the person. Imagine the frustration and the helplessness you feel when there is simply no answer from the other end. You wonder, “why is there no response?” That was Habakkuk’s plight. He kept praying, but it seemed to him that heaven had shut its door, and he was left to wonder “why is God not answering?”

He calls for help and it seemed to him God stopped hearing him. The Bible here paints a raw image of a man overcome with the sins of the world, and so weary from circumstances that he openly confronts God at His supposed inaction. Look at the bold honesty of Habakkuk! He is disturbed deeply and he cannot understand why God remains silent. Yet he persists! He takes his frustrations and hurt to God. Such was his intimate relationship. The silence of God did not shake Habakkuk’s faith. Rather it became a catalyst to further cast himself upon God. When it looks like God is not hearing our prayers, the Bible’s answer is not to give up praying but rather seek Him all the more. Prayer is not bending God’s will to ours, but surrendering to His will. 

On the cross, when Jesus cried out to the Father, He received silence; so that we may always have heaven bending down to hear us whenever we cry out. Even in His silence, God always hears the prayers of His children. Therefore, cast all your anxieties on God, because He cares for you (I Peter 5:7). God’s silence is not a mark of His absence but an opportunity to come into His presence by prayer.