When God Doesn't Answer

“I want to assure you that God has heard you. Just because God seems silent does not mean He is not there.”

As a young pastor, I did a lot of home visitation. I would knock on the door, and sometimes there would be no answer. I’d notice a car in the driveway, and a light on inside. “Certainly, someone is home,” I’d think. So, I’d knock harder. Why weren’t they answering?

Have you ever called out to God, only to worry that maybe He wasn’t listening? You bow your knee. You cry out to God with great emotion. But it feels like silence echoes from heaven. You wonder, “Am I praying the wrong way? Do I not have enough faith? Maybe God’s angry at me.”

We sometimes interpret God’s silence as a sign that He doesn’t care. But God’s Word reminds us that what may seem like no answer might in fact be something else. In Genesis 16, we are told that Sarai and her husband Abram could not conceive. Yet, God promised Abram that not only would Sarai bear a child, but she would become the grandmother of a great nation. So, Sarai waited. One year, two years, five years, nine years. Still nothing. It was 25 years before God’s promise was fulfilled! When Sarah was 90 and Abraham 100, Isaac was born. “The LORD did for Sarah what he had promised” (Gen. 21:1).

What are you waiting for today? Perhaps you’ve been praying about it for a long time. I want to assure you that God has heard you. Just because God seems silent does not mean He is not there. Psalm 46:1 reminds us, “God is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.”

Even though the answer may not happen on our timeline, we can trust God to fulfill His promises to us. “The Lord is not slow in keeping his promises, as some understand slowness. Instead, he is patient with you, not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to repentance” (2 Peter 3:9).

Hebrews 11:11 says, “By faith even Sarah, who was past childbearing age, was enabled to bear children because she considered him faithful who had made the promise.” Friend, if you feel like you are getting no answer, I encourage you to rest in God. Trust in His promises. Continue to look to Him expectantly. Lamentations 3:25 says, “The LORD is good to those who wait for Him, to the person who seeks Him.”