The Meaning of Silence from God

For some weeks, I had stopped doing my bible study on the book ‘Experiencing God’, coz the last few chapters seemed rather dry & repetitive, so I decided to take a break & read a Christian book instead. It was a refreshing time & two days ago, I went back to this bible study book again.

My interest was renewed in this book, when God spoke to me in this recent chapter titled ‘What Is Happening When You Pray?’ Two passages spoke very deeply to me & I’m recording it in here as part of my spiritual journey with God.

The first thing I learnt is to -

Watch to see what happens next

“Our problem is that we pray & then never relate anything that happens to our praying. After you pray, the greatest single thing you need to do is turn on your spiritual concentration. When you pray in a direction, immediately anticipate the activity of God in answer to your prayer. I find this all the way through the Scripture, when God’s people prayed, He responded.

Here’s what happens if you pray & then forget about you have prayed. Things start to happen during the day that is not normal for your day. You see them all as distractions & try to get rid of them. You fail to connect them with what you have just prayed.”

The second & most astonishing thing that I learnt is from the scripture on Lazarus. This is a short sequence of what this passage is about -

The death of Lazarus (John 11:1-45)

“John reported that Jesus loved Lazarus, Mary & Martha. Having received word that Lazarus was sick unto death, Jesus delayed going until Lazarus died. In other words, Mary & Martha asked Jesus to come help their brother, & there was silence. All the way through the final sickness & death of Lazarus, Jesus did not respond! They received no response from the One who said He loved Lazarus! Jesus even said He loved Mary & Martha. Yet, there was still no response…

Lazarus died. They went through the entire funeral process. They fixed his body, put him in the grave & covered it with a stone. Still they experienced silence from God. Then Jesus said to His disciples, “Let’s go.”

When Jesus arrived, Lazarus had been dead four days. Martha said to Jesus, “Lord, if You had been here, my brother would not have died.” (Verse 32)

The author then relates what the Holy Spirit helped him to understand. And it seemed to the author that it was as if Jesus had said to Mary & Martha -

“You are exactly right. If I had come, your brother would not have died. You know that I could have healed him, because you have seen Me heal many, many times. If I had come when you asked Me to, I would have healed him. But, you would have never known any more about Me than you already know. I knew that you were ready for a greater revelation of Me than you have ever known in your life. I wanted you to come to know that I am the resurrection & the life. My refusal & My silence were not rejection. It was an opportunity for Me to disclose to you more of Me than you have ever known.”

When I first read this from the bible study book, my tears just welled up in my eyes… & when I closed my eyes, one tear just fell onto my left hand. And I prayed & thanked God for speaking to me... & encouraging my heart.

Two days later, when I’m typing this Blog entry, it’s the second time that I read the passage, this time reading the exact passage from the NIV Bible… & my tears welled up in my eyes once again.

I felt the heart of God being so compassionate towards us. For here in this story, is the shortest verse in the whole Bible – just two words (verse 35) that says, “Jesus wept.” In fact, Jesus was deeply moved TWICE in this story, even though He knew & had earlier said, “Your brother will rise again.” (Verse 23)

When Jesus asked for the stone to be taken away, Martha said, “But Lord, by this time there is a bad odor, for he has been there four days.” (Verse 39)

And this is what Jesus replied, “Did I not tell you that if you believed, you would see the glory of God?” Wow… at that moment when I read this verse, my hearted just melted in softness before the Lord. And I prayed… & thanked God for encouraging my heart & my spirit once again.

Then again, my heart was deeply moved, when I read Jesus’ prayer to His heavenly Father saying, “Father, I thank You that You have heard Me. I knew that You always hear Me, but I said this for the benefit of the people standing here, that they may believe that You sent Me.” (Verse 41-42)

My heart was moved because I recognize that sometimes I pray like that too… saying, “Lord, I thank You for hearing me…” And when I read that Jesus also prayed in this manner, my heart was just so touched by the Lord. And Jesus went further, by saying this right in front of everyone, declaring that our heavenly Father ALWAYS… ALWAYS… ALWAYS… hears us…

Jesus then called in a loud voice, “Lazarus, come out!” (Verse 43)

And the rest is history… Lazarus was resurrected & came out of the tomb… after being dead, buried & stinking for four days.

Who’s going to tell me that Jesus is the only One who was resurrected? That all other testimonies of Christians who have been raised from the dead & went around proclaiming the testimonies about the wonders & splendors of heaven are untrue? No! Jesus Himself raised Lazarus from the dead… & as the almighty God who made everything that we see & do not see… know & do not know… He can too raise anyone that He so chooses… for the glory & testimony of His name!

These are some of the sharing of the author, as well as my own personal reflections about what the Holy Spirit spoke into my heart.

Although the author cautioned us that sometimes God’s silences can be due to sin in our life, there are also times when He allowed this silence, so that He can prepare us to go into a deeper understanding of Him. Thus, whenever we encounter silence from God, just continue doing the last thing God told you & watch for a fresh encounter with Him!

The author ends this chapter with this – “Do you know what set me free? Truth. And, Truth is a Person who is actively involved in my life.”

And I can’t agree any less with what he had said… for truth comes from God & is God, because that’s Who He is! And it is truth that will set us free. Amen!