What to Do If God Is Ignoring You


Lee Haywood (CC)



You pray, and you don’t feel anything.

You plead with God. Dead air.

Have you ever been there?

I have.


When God Stopped Talking to Me

A few years ago I read through the Bible in ninety days. It was exhilarating. It was exhausting.

That, coupled with the step of faith my wife and I took to be foster parents, led to one of the most intimate periods of my life with God.

I could feel his presence at church and when I prayed. There were multiple times when I felt God impressing things on my heart. Life was stressful and emotional, but it was all okay because me and God were tight.

Then one day it stopped.

No more tingling sensations in worship. No more direct messages from God.

I was still reading my Bible every day. Still praying. Still going to church.

Why was God ignoring me?


Two Words to Get You Through

Maybe you’ve been in this situation before. Or maybe you’re there right now. I’ve got two words for you:

Don’t stop.

Don’t stop pursuing God. Don’t stop reading His word. Don’t quit church. Persist.

I was disheartened, and I felt like God was mad at me for something. I felt like I wasn’t good enough. But I didn’t know what else to do, so I just kept praying.

One day, a few weeks later, I felt His return.

He, of course, never left. He was there the whole time.

When I felt His presence again, it was a relief. Things were right again.


Five Practical Steps

I don't know God's ways. But looking back, I think I know why I endured this episode of silence.

God was testing me.

He wanted to see what I'd do when I was no longer fueled by emotion: how I would react when I hit a spiritual wall.

And I'd like to say it's because of how righteous I am that I persisted. But the truth is I didn't know what else to do. And I'm too stubborn to quit.

You've heard it said that love is a choice, not an emotion. (That's half right.How will you respond when your relationship with God doesn't feel right?

if you've been a believer for any amount of time you've faced these situations. How should you respond?

I touched on a few, but here are five practical tips:

1. Ask yourself if there's anything you need to confess.
2. Ask yourself if there's someone you need to forgive.
3. Don't stop reading the Bible. It's one of the primary ways God reveals Himself to us.
4. Don't stop praying, but consider changing things up. If you always pray in silence, try praying out loud. Try writing down your prayers.
5. Consider fasting.

I’m not saying it’s going to be easy, but what alternative do you have? It reminds me of GK Chesterton’s quip:

When belief in God becomes difficult, the tendency is to turn away from Him. But in heaven’s name to what?

God is faithful even when we’re not.

Maybe you're in a spiritual rut. Maybe you're living in disobedience, and you need to repent. Maybe God is testing you. Whatever the case may be, remember these two words:

Don't stop.


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6 comments:

  1. I agree ten fold! This is a very good article and got me thinking. I do believe that god lets these kind of droughts happen for a reason. A good one. Thanks for the Article!

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    1. Remember Job? His wife told him to "curse God and die" but he was steadfast despite silence from God. And in the end God rewarded Job. You're welcome! Thanks for reading.

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  2. Nice article! I have ran into several people who go through these "spiritual ruts" as you put it, and for some reason a common response is to quit coming to church, and to quit doing the things they know to be right, so I appreciated your article. Here is a link for a really good article written by someone I know about a great challenge he had in his life, and how he overcame it with God's help. http://goo.gl/6C8ez1

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  3. Thank you, Goshen. And thanks for sharing the link.

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  4. I have no reason to persist. It’s not worth it

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    1. I'm not sure what you're going through, but I assure you it is worth it. Please find someone you can talk to such as a counselor, pastor, or loved one.

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