Prayer: When God Seems Silent

This month I cover various topics on prayer. Many of them were inspired by ideas found in a little-known book on prayer, Long Wandering Prayer by David Hansen. It has become a new favorite.

Sometimes it feels like we are praying to a brick wall. We have tried everything we know (including some of the ideas I mentioned last week, and more) and still it’s as if our prayers get sent out and nothing comes back. Like we are being ‘ghosted’ at a divine level. 

We might determine that we have failed at prayer. Or we might determine that God is not as loving or faithful as claimed, and doesn’t care to respond. Friend, neither of these are true. 

Our God is mysterious. Yet He has not left us alone. Could it be that He wants us to struggle (not fail) in prayer, because that is actually good for us? 

Something Hansen pointed out to me is that struggle in prayer forces us to remember that prayer is based on grace.

 Have you noticed that if you ‘try harder’ or ‘try to take over’ authentic prayer just feels farther out of reach? That’s because prayer is not about our technique or our worthiness, but is found in the divine conversation already happening within the Trinity. 

A section of Romans 8 beautifully reveals the prayer relationship between God the Father, God the Son, and God the Holy Spirit. 

God the Father: And God, who searches hearts, knows what is the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for the saints according to the will of God. (Rom 8:27) 

God the Son: Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. (Rom 8:34)

God the Holy Spirit: Likewise the Spirit helps us in our weakness. For we do not know what to pray for as we ought, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us with groanings too deep for words. (Rom 8:26)

Friend, the astonishing reality revealed in these verses is that prayer is already happening at a cosmic level–between the divine members who imagined you and created you, who carry the world forward and who usher in the Kingdom.

If you are in Christ, the Triune God is praying within you, for you, and understands your prayers even when they can only take the form of a sigh. Therefore, there is no such thing as ‘bad’ or ‘failed’ prayer, because prayer is already going on, with or without you. You just get to step into it. That is grace. 

So, you can approach prayer (even if it seems like only the crickets are responding) with much confidence (Heb 4:16). Hold fast to the truth of the Triune prayer happening around you, in you, in spite of you. In the depths of grief sometimes all we can give is a moan; but the next time you moan, know that is initiating a supernatural conversation on your behalf, for your good. 

– Kelly

Kelly is the Ministry Support Lead for Hope Mommies. She and her husband Dan live in Brenham, TX with their two earthside children, Annabelle and Eli (and lots of pets). Their firstborn, William, went to Heaven in July 2017. To balance out the fullness of life, Kelly enjoys gardening, yoga, and sipping on some matcha while reading historical fiction. She considers herself beyond privileged to share the amazing news of Jesus’ Hope to all who need it, and loves that William gets to be a part of that message.