Prayer to wait with hope when God seems silent
Author: Whitney Hopler
Bible reading:
“Wait for the Lord; be strong and take courage.” – Psalm 27:14, NIV
Listen or read below:
Do you ever feel like God isn’t hearing your prayers, or like He is listening but doesn’t care enough to answer your prayers?In this fallen world, you may pray and get no answer from God for a while. You may even wonder if prayer really works.
If God seems silent in your life right now, you are not alone. In fact, you are with Jesus’ disciples on Holy Saturday. The day after the cross and the day before the resurrection was the ultimate day of waiting. The disciples knew the great truth that what Jesus had promised would happen, but the time had not yet come. God must have seemed silent to the disciples that Saturday. They had to maintain faith that they would hear from God again at the right time when the resurrection occurred.
You will face your own “Holy Saturday” from time to time. It’s when you ask God for help with something, but you haven’t yet seen God’s help arrive. You may be praying about a broken relationship but are still estranged from your loved one. You may be praying to get the job you want, but the door to that opportunity is still closed. You may be asking God to heal you of your illness or injury, but your health is not improving. There are many other situations you face when you are praying, but God doesn’t seem to answer. If you find yourself in the middle of a Holy Saturday situation, don’t worry. Even if God is not currently speaking to you, He is still working for you because He is always working in your life.
Psalm 27:14 encourages you to wait for God to reveal the answers to your prayers. It’s not just about waiting. When we are told to “be strong and courageous,” we are taught how to wait. Such waiting is not passive. It is an active process of waiting with hope. As you wait, God will give you strength. When you wait in hope, you are working with God to prepare you for what’s next in your life.
The silence of Holy Saturday came just before the greatest miracle the world has ever known. While the disciples were grieving over Jesus’ death on the cross, Jesus was trying to overcome eternal death. When the timing was right for the revival, silence quickly turned to uproar.
So if you are currently experiencing Holy Saturday when God seems silent, let Psalm 27:14 encourage you to wait in hope. Silence is a space used to prepare you for the wonderful ways God plans to answer your prayers in His timing, and that is always best. Be strong, be courageous, and wait on the Lord. Use this time to seek renewed encouragement and strength from God. Keep believing that God has something great planned to answer your prayers. When the time is right for God to send it to you, look forward to it happening.
You can trust that the God who kept his promise on the first Easter morning will answer each of your prayers at the perfect time.
Let’s pray:
Dear God, I have prayed many times and am really hoping for an answer soon, but I have not heard from you. I was tired and frustrated because I had prayed so much and still had not received an answer. However, as discouraged as I am, I know that your perspective is better than mine and that you have the perfect timing in mind to answer my prayers.
On this Holy Saturday, I am thinking of how your disciples once looked at your sealed tomb and felt a painful sense of frustration, wondering if you would really rise from the dead. But they were one day away from experiencing the miracle of your resurrection. Forgive me for ever mistaking your silence for your absence.
Remember, even if you can’t be seen in action, you’re still doing great things behind the scenes. Therefore, I will brace myself and wait in anticipation for your timing. Strengthen your faith while you wait. I look forward to seeing how you answer my prayers. Thank goodness this silence is temporary. You can celebrate your answer in the future. God, I love you. Amen.
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Photo credit: ©GettyImages/Arthit_Longwilai
Whitney Hopler helps people discover the wonders of God and experience awe. She is the author of several books, including the nonfiction books Wake Up to Wonder and Wonder Through the Year: A Daily Devotional for Every Year, and the young adult novel Dream Factory. Whitney has served as an editor at major media organizations including Crosswalk.com, the national publication of the Salvation Army USA, and Dotdash.com (producing the popular Angels and Miracles channel). She currently leads communications operations at George Mason University’s Center for Human Services Advancement. Connect with Whitney on her website www.whitneyhopler.com and on her Facebook author page.
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