God is NOT always speaking

What do you do when God seems to be absent? 

Sometimes I sit in God’s presence and don’t hear his voice. I pray and ask questions, but I can’t hear a thing. My first response to that kind of situation usually sounds like this: ‘Have I done something wrong? Is God mad at me? Doesn’t he love me anymore?’

I register this line of questioning quickly to see if my assumptions align with the truth, which is God’s Word:

For I am convinced that neither death nor life, neither angels nor demons, neither the present nor the future, nor any powers, neither height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God that is in Christ Jesus our Lord. Romans 8:38-39

I read about God’s love and grace (Romans 5:8 / Jeremiah 31:3 / 2. Timothy 1:9 / Ephesians 3:18 etc.). I’ve learned that there’s no fear in perfect love (1. John 4:18). Studying God’s love uncovered the lies the enemy tried to feed me; that God wouldn’t love me anymore or that he’d be mad at me. But God has forgiven me and does not withhold his love from me.

Lately, I’ve seen the slogan ‘God is always speaking’ all over Instagram. This is just not biblical. There’s no indication in the Bible that leads us to believe that God is always speaking. Rather, godly people experienced times when God was silent. For example, David:

My God, I cry out by day, but you do not answer, by night, but I find no rest. Psalm 22:2

Thinking that God is always speaking adds a lot of pressure to you as it indicates that it’s your fault if you don‘t hear from him. Or that you may be too sinful. False! This is a lie because all have sinned (Romans 3:23). God is not mad at you. He even speaks to non-believers: For example to pharaoh in a dream (Genesis 41:1-7). 

God is always moving but not always speaking.

Now we know that God is NOT always speaking. Let’s look at few reasons why and what we can do in such a situation:

1.Ask God to show you why he doesn’t speak.

2.Remember the basics: Go to church (or watch the service online), read your Bible, listen to worship music and sermons, have fellowship with other believers, etc. 

3.Go back to the last thing God put on my heart to do and check if I’ve followed through with it.

4.Pray for open ears to hear his voice.

5.Demand every evil spirit to go in the name of Jesus.

6.You may be in a desert season at the moment. There are times when God doesn’t speak for a certain period of time. This happened to me and many people I know a few times. Just wait and trust God to do his work in your heart. 

7.Ask your friends to pray for you for clarity, revelation, and every hindrance to be removed.

8.Try fasting: Food, your phone, social media, whatever. 

9.All has been said and you just need to wait on the Lord. Patience is the key here. 

10.You fear making a mistake. You’re afraid of doing something because it may be ‘the wrong’ step. Maybe God stays silent for you to realize that you need to let go of your fear of making a wrong move. 

11.God gives you freedom in decision making. You may want to know where to move or which job to take. You’ve done all of the things I listed above and still got no clarity on what to do next. Wait for the deadline to approach and when the day comes for you to make a decision and you haven’t heard a thing, God gives you the freedom to choose. 

What if you think you’re not ‘special enough’ to hear God? Well, every born-again believer received the Holy Spirit and can, therefore, hear the voice of God (John 10:27 / John 14:26). Some hear him speak from the day they were born again, while others, like me, have to study and practice hearing his voice. 

You don’t need to have a special calling or gift. You don’t need to be a pastor or prophet. You need to have the Holy Spirit on the inside of you and go through the process of learning to hear his voice. 

Not hearing from God for a while humbles me because I see how much I’m dependent on him. How vulnerable and lost I’d be without a personal relationship with God. How scary it would be to face the world without my creator to lead and guide me.

Sometimes I don’t know why God doesn’t speak for a while. I came to the conclusion that it’s okay to not always know the reason behind it. I know that God loves me, he is faithful, and he holds my life in his hands. This knowledge is enough for me to surrender everything to my heavenly Father daily and wait expectantly to hear him again another time.

Read more

How I’ve learned to hear God’s voice

8 practical tips to hear God’s voice

How I spend time with God

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