So, let’s tell some truth.
Lots of descriptions of prayer make it sound simple. Listen for that still small voice. But what if we listen, and there is no still voice, small or loud ― no voice at all? We seek, but we cannot find. We ask, but there is no answer. We knock. And knock. And knock.
This business of listening for the voice of God sounds great, but just try to hear it. It’s not always so easy. By day, God does not answer, and by night nothing comes. That is exactly what Psalm 22 describes: desperate, urgent prayer... with no answer. What are we to make of that?
Part of the answer is found in Matthew 27:46 where Jesus quotes Psalm 22 in His agony on the cross as He takes on the sins of the world. The problem was not that God was not there, but that sin made it difficult to hear Him.
If Jesus, because of our sin, had trouble hearing from God we can expect to experience the same thing at times. But that’s not all. Psalm 22 also speaks to faith. He has not hidden his face from him, but has heard when he cried to him (verse 24). God is there. Even when we can’t hear Him, He hears us.
This can be our experience, too. Faith when God doesn’t answer. Faith that God will answer. Faith that “kingship belongs to God” and He still is there and rules.
Lord, I may not be able to hear your voice just now. I do not understand what you are doing. Really, I don’t. But I trust and believe that you hear. You are the king. I worship you alone. Amen.
Go Deeper — Reflect on how Jesus felt on the cross: isolated, alone, not hearing from God but trusting in Him at the same time. It is part of the walk of faith.
Photo Credit: Ray Hennessy