What I did in response to God's silence in the past was to get discouraged and my prayer life suffered, then the rest of my life kinda fell into shambles. Looking back now, having recently read through journals I kept years ago, I can see now that even while God was being "silent", He was doing His work in my life the whole time, even when everything was a mess, even when I was losing faith and confidence in Him. I think my best advice to you is something I do which is to pray, like dedicate maybe 15 minutes to like a half hour each day to doing just that. If you haven't tried that yet, I assure you it gets easier to do as time goes on (as you start praying you'll want to pray more as the Spirit leads you) but it may not necessarily be easy to get into the prayer (spiritual warfare). Fasting and praying might also be a very good option for you (but be careful if you've got health issues!). When I started fasting I felt my prayers were becoming stronger, which was very helpful in starting me off on a stronger prayer life (I only skipped about 1-2 meals when I did it and it was still beneficial). Definitely trust the Spirit to lead you on how long to fast, etc. I found this article to be quite helpful and it's what led me to start fasting in the first place:
Fasting - What The Bible Says
Also, they quote Isaiah 58 in that article, which is kind of a guide to fasting.
So overall, my advice is to seek God and His will even more during the silence. I know it's discouraging, but do hang in there, God's still working!
English Standard Version
But Jesus answered them, My Father is working until now, and I am working.
- John 5:17
◄ Isaiah 58
►
English Standard Version
True and False Fasting
1Cry aloud; do not hold back;
lift up your voice like a trumpet;
declare to my people their transgression,
to the house of Jacob their sins.
2Yet they seek me daily
and delight to know my ways,
as if they were a nation that did righteousness
and did not forsake the judgment of their God;
they ask of me righteous judgments;
they delight to draw near to God.
3Why have we fasted, and you see it not?
Why have we humbled ourselves, and you take no knowledge of it?
Behold, in the day of your fast you seek your own pleasure,
a
and oppress all your workers.
4Behold, you fast only to quarrel and to fight
and to hit with a wicked fist.
Fasting like yours this day
will not make your voice to be heard on high.
5Is such the fast that I choose,
a day for a person to humble himself?
Is it to bow down his head like a reed,
and to spread sackcloth and ashes under him?
Will you call this a fast,
and a day acceptable to the Lord?
6Is not this the fast that I choose:
to loose the bonds of wickedness,
to undo the straps of the yoke,
to let the oppressed
b go free,
and to break every yoke?
7Is it not to share your bread with the hungry
and bring the homeless poor into your house;
when you see the naked, to cover him,
and not to hide yourself from your own flesh?
8Then shall your light break forth like the dawn,
and your healing shall spring up speedily;
your righteousness shall go before you;
the glory of the Lord shall be your rear guard.
9Then you shall call, and the Lord will answer;
you shall cry, and he will say, Here I am.
If you take away the yoke from your midst,
the pointing of the finger, and speaking wickedness,
10if you pour yourself out for the hungry
and satisfy the desire of the afflicted,
then shall your light rise in the darkness
and your gloom be as the noonday.
11And the Lord will guide you continually
and satisfy your desire in scorched places
and make your bones strong;
and you shall be like a watered garden,
like a spring of water,
whose waters do not fail.
12And your ancient ruins shall be rebuilt;
you shall raise up the foundations of many generations;
you shall be called the repairer of the breach,
the restorer of streets to dwell in.
13If you turn back your foot from the Sabbath,
from doing your pleasure
c on my holy day,
and call the Sabbath a delight
and the holy day of the Lord honorable;
if you honor it, not going your own ways,
or seeking your own pleasure,
d or talking idly;
e
14then you shall take delight in the Lord,
and I will make you ride on the heights of the earth;
f
I will feed you with the heritage of Jacob your father,
for the mouth of the Lord has spoken.
Footnotes:
a 3 Or
pursue your own business
b 6 Or
bruised
c 13 Or
business
d 13 Or
pursuing your own business
e 13 Hebrew
or speaking a word
f 14 Or
of the land
Isaiah 58 ESV
For some time now I've been reconnecting with God and while I feel He speaks through something 'beyond' language (feelings etc) but I do find His silence troubling. We have the Bible but it is hard to find peace through that alone, at least for me. When I consider all the suffering that has happened and continues to happen, God's silence is deafening.
How do you all deal with it?
Also, any Bible passages you could recommend on this theme would be much appreciated.