What to Do When You Feel Like You Aren’t Hearing From God
What should we do when we feel like we aren't hearing from God?
In our Christian walks, perhaps we all go through periods where we aren’t hearing from God like we used to or like we want. When this happens, may we always hold onto the fact that God is GOD, that he loves his children, and that we am safe in his plan and can always seek him more. This answer could probably end right here.
But maybe you’d like a longer answer. Because during the waiting period, maybe we’re upset or feel weak or frustrated, and it’s nice to hear someone who understands. If this is you right now, I hope this chat kind of feels like a warm hug. I get it and know it’s not easy.
What I’ve realized, and maybe what you’ve realized too, is that God works in mysterious ways. Yes, sometimes maybe we don’t hear from God because we’re not seeking him. But other times, we believe we are seeking him with all of our hearts as it says in Jeremiah 29:13 but we still don’t seem to find him. When this happens, I pray we remember that God is God. He is in control of everything. He loves us, sees us, knows all our thoughts, and absolutely knows what he’s doing.
Then, with this assurance, some things I do to seek God are:
Pray God’s word back to him
The Bible is the living word of God and his promises are true. There’s power when we read his truth out loud. For example, the question of not hearing from God, we could pray “God, you say in Jeremiah 29:13 that if I seek you with all of my heart then I will find you. I’m doing my best to seek you with all of my heart, as best as I can right now, but I still feel weak. I can’t sense your presence or your voice. I pray you will reveal yourself to me in a fresh, mighty way. I pray for what you promise in Isaiah 40:29 that you give power to the weak and strength to the powerless. I believe you will answer me, God, in your perfect way and time. I’m waiting on you, with all my heart.”
Give God your best
Alongside praying God’s word back to him, I try and organize my life to give God all the best bits. When I really want to hear from God, whether that’s experiencing more of his presence or hear from him clearly about a decision, and am not, I check how I’m living my life. Once I was praying and felt God show me an image of a metal pipe and remind me to keep my pipe clean. As in our minds and hearts can get cluttered if we’re taking in ungodly attitudes through TV, books, music or even conversation. Most if not all secular media these days is filled with ungodly attitudes - lies, lust, greed, hate, manipulation, etc. Even the comedies! Maybe we want to be entertained, but if it’s affecting our intimacy with God, then God will lead us to make some changes. For me, when I choose to spend less time with God - which sounds terrible but it can be something as simple as letting TV cut into my prayer time - then I for sure sense it affecting my intimacy with God.
Are you in?
So during those times when we want to hear from God but are not, let’s spend more time in his Word and more time in prayer. Let’s take God at his Word and trust his process. We can trust 100% that God loves us, that his sheep hear his voice, and that he knows how to reach us.
More on You Are You Podcast Episode 10 (the Season 1 finale!).
