1 00:00:02,680 --> 00:00:14,280 Speaker 1: Life Audio. Welcome to the Crosswalk devotional. We're glad to 2 00:00:14,320 --> 00:00:18,040 Speaker 1: have you listening with us. Today's topic is what to 3 00:00:18,120 --> 00:00:23,040 Speaker 1: do when God feels Silent. We'll return with the devotion 4 00:00:23,480 --> 00:00:40,520 Speaker 1: after a brief message from our sponsors, Holding on When 5 00:00:40,560 --> 00:00:47,680 Speaker 1: God Feels Silent? Written and read by Sarah Fraser. How long, 6 00:00:47,880 --> 00:00:52,320 Speaker 1: Oh Lord, will you forget me forever? How long will 7 00:00:52,360 --> 00:00:57,960 Speaker 1: you hide your face from me? Psalm thirteen One. I 8 00:00:58,000 --> 00:01:00,000 Speaker 1: looked at my journal from the beginning of the year. 9 00:01:00,960 --> 00:01:04,679 Speaker 1: Six months had passed, and I realized several of my 10 00:01:04,800 --> 00:01:10,280 Speaker 1: prayer requests remain unanswered. Several family members had been going 11 00:01:10,319 --> 00:01:13,600 Speaker 1: through trials and needed help, but as I glanced at 12 00:01:13,600 --> 00:01:19,040 Speaker 1: the list, God had still not answered them yet. The 13 00:01:19,040 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: phrase from Psalm thirteen entered my mind, how long o God? 14 00:01:25,560 --> 00:01:29,360 Speaker 1: Instantly I felt guilty that I had questioned God, But 15 00:01:29,480 --> 00:01:33,360 Speaker 1: then I remembered that Psalm thirteen was in the Bible, 16 00:01:34,040 --> 00:01:36,760 Speaker 1: and if the Psalmist was allowed to say those words, 17 00:01:37,400 --> 00:01:41,280 Speaker 1: so was I. As I've begun to pray more, I've 18 00:01:41,319 --> 00:01:45,280 Speaker 1: found it to stretch my faith, mostly because a lot 19 00:01:45,319 --> 00:01:49,520 Speaker 1: of my big prayers are yet to be answered. God's 20 00:01:49,560 --> 00:01:55,880 Speaker 1: silence is often very hard. Have you ever just wondered 21 00:01:56,720 --> 00:02:02,680 Speaker 1: is God listening. Faith doesn't ignore silence. It learns how 22 00:02:02,680 --> 00:02:08,560 Speaker 1: to speak honestly to God within it. In Psalm thirteen 23 00:02:08,639 --> 00:02:13,560 Speaker 1: we see the language of lament David. The author asks 24 00:02:13,680 --> 00:02:21,079 Speaker 1: multiple times how long, suffering, hardship, and sorrow were regular 25 00:02:21,160 --> 00:02:24,320 Speaker 1: parts of David's life, especially as he ran from the 26 00:02:24,400 --> 00:02:29,799 Speaker 1: murdering King Saul. Including those questions here, David reminds us 27 00:02:29,840 --> 00:02:35,160 Speaker 1: that God gives us permission to feel this longing, to 28 00:02:35,440 --> 00:02:39,840 Speaker 1: feel the tension of having faith but feeling distant from God. 29 00:02:40,960 --> 00:02:48,040 Speaker 1: Faith includes honest questions, how long O Lord? Psalm thirteen 30 00:02:48,160 --> 00:02:55,120 Speaker 1: one says David continues in Psalm thirteen to bring his 31 00:02:55,280 --> 00:03:00,480 Speaker 1: pain to God. He doesn't withdraw, but turns down to God. 32 00:03:01,240 --> 00:03:06,280 Speaker 1: Toward God the whole Psalm thirteen is a prayer to God. 33 00:03:08,120 --> 00:03:12,919 Speaker 1: We might shy away from being honest or too hesitant 34 00:03:13,080 --> 00:03:17,640 Speaker 1: to express our frustration with the unanswered prayers, but David 35 00:03:17,720 --> 00:03:22,160 Speaker 1: helps us remember God is big enough to handle all 36 00:03:22,360 --> 00:03:28,080 Speaker 1: of our requests and questions. David asks for light, help 37 00:03:28,480 --> 00:03:33,560 Speaker 1: and intervention. Just because God hasn't answered a prayer or 38 00:03:33,639 --> 00:03:40,000 Speaker 1: feels silent doesn't mean we stop praying in faith. We 39 00:03:40,160 --> 00:03:43,240 Speaker 1: continue to come to God and talk to him. In 40 00:03:43,280 --> 00:03:46,480 Speaker 1: the midst of his questions and doubts, David says, but 41 00:03:46,880 --> 00:03:53,200 Speaker 1: I trust Psalm thirteen to five. The circumstances haven't changed, 42 00:03:53,240 --> 00:03:58,720 Speaker 1: but David's focus has Trust is a decision, not a feeling. 43 00:04:00,160 --> 00:04:03,720 Speaker 1: David is honest about his feelings, but then holds on 44 00:04:04,400 --> 00:04:09,000 Speaker 1: to the truth of God's character the rest of the psalm, 45 00:04:09,360 --> 00:04:14,279 Speaker 1: the last verse especially ends with a declaration of praise. 46 00:04:15,440 --> 00:04:19,479 Speaker 1: It is of future praise, one that hasn't happened yet, 47 00:04:19,960 --> 00:04:26,599 Speaker 1: but David says he knows God will answer how Because 48 00:04:26,680 --> 00:04:31,080 Speaker 1: David has focused on two things. David says in Psalm 49 00:04:31,120 --> 00:04:37,640 Speaker 1: thirteen three, O Lord, My God, David has a personal 50 00:04:37,680 --> 00:04:42,599 Speaker 1: relationship with God, one that was tested over time. God 51 00:04:42,680 --> 00:04:46,080 Speaker 1: had already proven himself faithful to David in the past, 52 00:04:46,640 --> 00:04:50,560 Speaker 1: because in Psalm thirteen six, David says he has dealt 53 00:04:50,560 --> 00:04:55,960 Speaker 1: bountiful with me. A faith that holds on in the 54 00:04:56,000 --> 00:05:02,440 Speaker 1: midst of silence and doubts focuses on these two things, 55 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:09,200 Speaker 1: a personal relationship with God and God's past actions. Don't 56 00:05:09,279 --> 00:05:13,159 Speaker 1: think that this quiet season is a reflection of God's 57 00:05:13,240 --> 00:05:18,640 Speaker 1: love for you. God loved us first First John four, 58 00:05:18,720 --> 00:05:24,320 Speaker 1: nineteen you can question God and still trust him. In fact, 59 00:05:24,640 --> 00:05:30,040 Speaker 1: Psalm thirteen reminds us that God welcomes our questions. Silence 60 00:05:30,680 --> 00:05:35,240 Speaker 1: is never the end of the story. Keep holding on 61 00:05:37,080 --> 00:05:40,480 Speaker 1: if you're in a season where God feels silent or quiet, 62 00:05:41,279 --> 00:05:45,159 Speaker 1: I walk through Psalm thirteen on my podcast Psalms to 63 00:05:45,200 --> 00:05:49,240 Speaker 1: help you sleep. It helps you turn your questions into prayer. 64 00:05:50,320 --> 00:05:53,039 Speaker 1: Listening to God's word can be a soothing bomb to 65 00:05:53,080 --> 00:05:56,679 Speaker 1: our souls that are weary. If prayer feels like too much, 66 00:05:57,279 --> 00:06:01,040 Speaker 1: start with just a prayer that says God, God, I 67 00:06:01,080 --> 00:06:08,360 Speaker 1: want to trust you, but it's hard intersecting faith and life. 68 00:06:08,680 --> 00:06:13,640 Speaker 1: God's silence seems harsh, doesn't it. One thing I need 69 00:06:13,680 --> 00:06:16,200 Speaker 1: to remember, and I hope to encourage you to remember 70 00:06:16,240 --> 00:06:21,520 Speaker 1: as well, is that ultimately God is never silent. Yes, 71 00:06:21,760 --> 00:06:24,840 Speaker 1: our hearts feel as if God isn't speaking to us, 72 00:06:24,960 --> 00:06:28,800 Speaker 1: or that He isn't answering our prayers. The truth we 73 00:06:28,880 --> 00:06:34,640 Speaker 1: need is that God is always speaking through his words. 74 00:06:36,080 --> 00:06:39,760 Speaker 1: The Bible is always available to us, and it is 75 00:06:39,800 --> 00:06:42,520 Speaker 1: the light, the help, and the guidance we need in 76 00:06:42,600 --> 00:06:46,320 Speaker 1: times of great hardship. In the midst of any situation, 77 00:06:46,600 --> 00:06:50,599 Speaker 1: God's word the Bible can provide hope. God welcomes you 78 00:06:50,800 --> 00:06:54,440 Speaker 1: even your questions. The silence is not the end of 79 00:06:54,480 --> 00:06:58,080 Speaker 1: the story. As you go to God, no matter how 80 00:06:58,120 --> 00:07:04,480 Speaker 1: you feel, answer the those questions honestly before him. Start here, 81 00:07:05,760 --> 00:07:10,320 Speaker 1: Where does God feel silent right now? What honest prayer 82 00:07:10,640 --> 00:07:17,240 Speaker 1: needs to be spoken? Additional scripture Lamentations three twenty two 83 00:07:17,440 --> 00:07:23,280 Speaker 1: through twenty three, Psalm fifty five twenty two, Philippians four 84 00:07:23,560 --> 00:07:31,680 Speaker 1: six through seven, one Peter five seven, Exodus sixteen eighteen 85 00:07:32,040 --> 00:07:39,800 Speaker 1: through twenty one. Thanks for listening to today's devotional. If 86 00:07:39,800 --> 00:07:41,840 Speaker 1: you liked what you heard today, we want to make 87 00:07:41,840 --> 00:07:45,240 Speaker 1: sure you know about our sister podcast, Your Daily Prayer. 88 00:07:45,680 --> 00:07:49,240 Speaker 1: When you follow your Daily Prayer in your favorite podcast app, 89 00:07:49,440 --> 00:07:52,280 Speaker 1: you'll get a brand new prayer and devotional each day, 90 00:07:52,600 --> 00:07:56,200 Speaker 1: so your days begin in conversation with God. If you're 91 00:07:56,200 --> 00:07:58,960 Speaker 1: looking to grow in prayer or start your day with 92 00:07:59,000 --> 00:08:02,640 Speaker 1: your heart focused on the right things, search for your 93 00:08:02,800 --> 00:08:06,320 Speaker 1: daily Prayer in your favorite podcast app and be sure 94 00:08:06,360 --> 00:08:08,760 Speaker 1: to follow the show so you get a new prayer 95 00:08:08,840 --> 00:08:11,240 Speaker 1: delivered straight to you each morning.