Brent’s Blog

Why Can’t I Hear God? IS THERE INTERFERENCE? 8 Forms of interference in our communication from God:

1. Asking Amiss:
Psalm 46:10-11 NKJV – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

2. Family Discord:
[1Pe 3:7 NKJV] 7 Husbands, likewise, dwell with [them] with understanding, giving honor to the wife, as to the weaker vessel, and as [being] heirs together of the grace of life, that your prayers may not be hindered.

3. Compassionless Living:
[Isa 58:4-7 NKJV] 4 Indeed you fast for strife and debate, And to strike with the fist of wickedness. You will not fast as [you do] this day, To make your voice heard on high. 5 Is it a fast that I have chosen, A day for a man to afflict his
soul? [Is it] to bow down his head like a bulrush, And to spread out sackcloth and ashes? Would you call this a fast,
And an acceptable day to the LORD? 6 “[Is] this not the fast that I have chosen: To loose the bonds of wickedness, To
undo the heavy burdens, To let the oppressed go free, And that you break every yoke? 7 [Is it] not to share your bread with the hungry, And that you bring to your house the poor who are cast out; When you see the naked, that you cover him, And not hide yourself from your own flesh?

4. Lack of Stillness
Psalm 46:10-11 NKJV – Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth! The LORD of hosts is with us; The God of Jacob is our refuge. Selah

5. Turning Away from Scripture:
Proverbs 28:9 NKJV – One who turns away his ear from hearing the law, Even his prayer is an abomination.

6. Lack of Forgiveness:
Mark 11:25 NKJV – “And whenever you stand praying, if you have anything against anyone, forgive him, that your
Father in heaven may also forgive you your trespasses.

7. Enjoyed sin/unrepentant:
Psalm 66:18 ESV – If I had cherished iniquity in my heart, the Lord would not have listened.

8. Doubt:
James 1:6-8 ESV – But let him ask in faith, with no doubting, for the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea that is
driven and tossed by the wind. For that person must not suppose that he will receive anything from the Lord; he is a
double-minded man, unstable in all his ways.

Have you experienced the silence of God? Perhaps it is a prayer or a question left long unanswered. Or maybe you have felt a spiritual void, empty of the felt presence of the Almighty. In the quest to hear God’s voice, it may tempting to move straight into a study of “I”: “What can I do to hear God’s voice? What can I change in myself to hear Him? How can I learn to distinguish His voice among others?” There certainly is teaching to be brought here, but beginning at this point puts us at risk of passing over a very important though troubling question: Could it be that God is silent?

The silence of God is attested to by the scriptures, the experiences of mighty men and women of God, and perhaps may even be the void that drew you to the title of this article. Knowing this could be the case does not make it any easier and I must admit, I have no comfort to give. Glib platitudes have no analgesic value against the pain that presents itself in the absence of the Divine voice. No advice, however well-meaning and true, can placate the ache to hear some heavenly echo.

That said, there is value in recognizing the silence of God. Admitting to the silence allows us to mourn it, to yearn for the voice, and to wrestle with the frustration of its absence. When we have permission to fill the quiet void with weeping, we leave the realm of spiritual numbness and embark into the hidden pain every human being has felt since the fall. It is the excruciating pain of our separation from God. This is not a sting only felt by the unsaved man or woman. Quite the opposite, it is an agony amplified to the one who has tasted of the heavenly waters only to look down and find his feet still planted on a parched, dry earth. To glimpse the day when God Himself shall be our tabernacle may serve to emphasize the great chasm that stands between the future fellowship of heaven and the present loneliness of earth.

And so, I believe, before we tackle the question of how to hear God’s voice, we must first allow ourselves to grieve the truth of the silence we really are experiencing. Although tears may be enough for some, I have found music and poetry to be two understanding guides and even friends through the process. These two give voice to feelings dry prose cannot touch. King David, a man well known for his closeness to God, was by no means unfamiliar with the anguish we too feel. Repeatedly throughout the Psalms, the poet-warrior turned to song in the silence of God.

He cries: “How long, O LORD? Will You forget me forever? How long will You hide Your face from me?” (Psalm 13:1). He asks “My God, My God, why have You forsaken Me? Why are You so far from helping Me, And from the words of My groaning? O My God, I cry in the daytime, but You do not hear; And in the night season, and am not silent.” (Psalm 22:1-2). He pleads with God: “Do not be silent to me, Lest, if You are silent to me, I become like those who go down to the pit. (Psalm 28:1). With desperation he calls out: “Answer me speedily, O LORD; My spirit fails! Do not hide Your face from me, Lest I be like those who go down into the pit.” (Psalm 143:7)

As you learn to grieve the silence of God, I would encourage you to read some of these Psalms in full. Some end with a feeling of renewed hope, others end as dimly as they began. All are raw and authentic testimonies to the real hurts God followers like us experience.

Practicing this art of grieving has a purpose and, though not comforting in the moment, it is good to know that the silence of God is not meaningless. It is your spiritual hunger that bears witness that you do not belong to the kingdom of the world but to the Kingdom of God. To mourn the distance between ourselves and the Lord is to testify that He and He alone can comfort us (and He will!). It’s when the ache for heaven overcomes the lust of this world that we put ourselves in the position to receive God’s best. And when we are honest enough to admit that we are morally famished and in need of the Lord’s righteous, loving voice, it is to that parched throat that water is most refreshing and food is most filling. This is the message of the first four beatitudes of Matthew, chapter 5 and it is also the message experience teaches us.

We can easily identify with statements such as “Absence makes the heart grow fonder” and “familiarity breeds contempt.” Suffering and deprivation seem to grow us while prosperity and success can create spiritual laziness. Even in earthly matters, it is common to find the pursuit of a good thing more enjoyable than obtaining it. And it is when we are denied something that we begin to crave it all the more whether it be marriage, children, freedom, or some other dream.

In short, the silence of God creates within us a yearning for the holy, a yearning for God. Our hunger for many things is purified into one desire, to experience God. And, as Jesus promised, the pure in heart will see God!

There are many people who are looking for signs of the end times. There is no lack of literature written
on the topic, backed by commentators happy to point out the correlation between current events and
the prophecies of scripture. Others bring cases as to why certain individuals might be the anti-Christ,
purport arguments for what the mark of the beast is, and set timelines for when the end will come. Such
knowledge may be useful but is in itself drastically insufficient for preparing ourselves for the return of
Jesus Christ. Such was the case the first time He arrived.
In Matthew chapter 2 we discover a group of individuals who were highly studied experts in the
scriptural signs of the coming Messiah. Their skill was displayed when their services were called upon by
King Herod. The King’s question pertained to the birthplace of the Christ. These scribes and high priests
were able to pinpoint the town as Bethlehem by locating a rather obscure passage in the brief
manuscript of a minor prophet (Micah 5:2).
Herod’s concern came from a group of gentile astrologers who observed the appearing of a star that
signified to them (for unknown reasons to us) that the “King of the Jews” had been born. This troubled
Herod, the scribes, the chief priests, and all of Jerusalem. Here is a great irony: those who studied
hardest to understand the coming of the Messiah were the most vexed when He actually arrived! Why
such an illogical reaction? Consider the entire passage they looked to in order to predict the Christ’s
birthplace:
The experts lived comfortably in the city of Jerusalem whilst God’s anointed was to be born in the tiny
town of Bethlehem (Micah 5:2). The scribes enjoyed a “god” they could explain and hold in the palm of
their hand, whereas the coming One is He “Whose goings forth are from of old, from everlasting.”
(Micah 5:2). The sign-seekers of Jerusalem felt secure in the courts of a temple banned from
international God-seeking tourists. In contrast, the King of the Jews would bring the whole family of God
together from every nationality on planet earth (Micah 5:3). These knowledgeable men found their
value in being looked to for wisdom and in being adored for their religious devotion. The Man of God’s
Own Choosing would, by Micah’s revelation, capture the attention of all, feeding them with His lifegiving
words (Micah 5:4). Lastly, the high priests of Jerusalem clung to a peace that resulted from their
own moral compromises with the Roman government. The baby born in Bethlehem would not support
this kind of a mock peace, however. Anyone claiming to be royalty without Caesar’s stamp of approval
would surely incur wrath on the whole nation of Israel. He was not coming to make peace; He was
coming to be our peace (Micah 5:5).
Herod and all Jerusalem with him was troubled (Matthew 2:3). But the wise men were not! They happily
left the comfort of their own homes and passionately pursued the infant born in an obscure manger in
an obscure stable in an obscure town. The men titled “wise” abandoned their own religious knowledge,
looked to the awesome breadth of the heavens, and returned their gaze to earth, finally resting their
eyes on the infinite contained in flesh. Away from their own culture, the men from orient land rejoiced
in the birth of a foreign King and found greater fulfillment by adoring the Son of Man than in being
adored by the sons of men. And as they left nativity scene, these men found peace. They received a
vision not to return to the King but instead to go their own way. This was not the peace that comes from
making a diplomatic deal with the world but the peace that comes from trustingly making Christ Himself
our peace.
Only a few will be ready for the returning Christ and His coming will not necessarily come to the
studiers-of-signs but more likely to the seekers-of-stars. It is for those who passionately pursue the
heavenly majesty of the King. More than that, the King and His Kingdom belong to the humble. If you’re
at the end of your rope, there’s a good chance if you let go you’ll find yourself a citizen of Heaven
Matthew 5:3). If you’re brought to tears because of how far gone your life is, you will be comforted by
what’s coming next (Matt. 5:4). Those of us who have no desire to fight and scramble to climb the
ladder of success may find everything we ever wanted being handed over on a silver platter at the end
of time (Matt. 5:5) and the men and women who can admit they are morally starved will find a great
feast when they look upon the face of Jesus on that day (Matt. 5:6). If you are merciful, you’ll receive
mercy and if you’re simple enough to only have it in you to want one thing, God Himself, well it’s
guaranteed you’ll see Him one day (Matt. 5:7-8). It will be the extenders of olive branches who will be
called the victorious children of God and it will be the picked on and persecuted who find a place in the
Jesus’s new world order (Matt. 5:9-10).
Are you ready for the end times? Are you okay with who the coming Messiah is? The proud must fight
Him to keep their own dignity but the humble know they have none and will gladly receive the honor He
bestows. If you are comfortable with your placement in life, satisfied with your understanding of all
things spiritual, safe in your neighborhood insulated from minorities, secure in the way others perceive
you, and clung to the peace given by this world, get ready: Your world is about to be shaken!