14 Honest Prayers for Mama BearsSample

Day 13: When God Feels Silent

Father, I’m praying, but I hear nothing. I feel nothing. I don’t think You are ignoring me, for You tell me You know the number of hairs on my head (Luke 12:7). Not even a sparrow falls to the ground without Your knowledge (Matthew 10:29). You are an infinite God, which means You have an infinite amount of attention to give Your creation. When I sit and when I rise, when I bless and when I curse, Your eyes are fixed on me. So why can’t I hear You?

Could it be that my ears have grown so accustomed to the manic noise of this world that I have dulled my ability to hear from You? Have I become conditioned to the world’s constant activity and endless distractions? As I squirm in the silence, I am reminded to cease striving and be still before You (Psalm 46:10). Your silence is not from lack of attention. I may not hear You, Lord, but You have not forgotten me. When Your silence feels unbearable, I pray for Your calming hand to soothe my ever-active brain. When I feel like I can do anything but be still, may You provide ways to foster stillness. God, we are such a task-oriented, now, now, now world. Please give me the self-control and patience to wait on Your voice when it doesn’t feel like it is coming fast enough.

Honest Evaluation

Ask God to reveal to you if anything is keeping you from hearing Him—an unconfessed sin, busyness, a cluttered mind. Sometimes, it’s none of the above. Don’t be afraid of the silence, but be persistent in prayer.