February 18, 2025
by Pastor Chuck Swindoll
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When you pray, do you ever feel like you’re standing at the bottom of a long stairway looking up. The light is off, and even though you call out for a response, nothing happens.
You are not alone. Many a soul struggles at this very moment with divine silence. You likely know the story by heart. A calamity comes. We cry out and expect relief, but instead of answers, we hear nothing.
A mate who has been there for years suddenly walks out. The one who is left alone to face what seems to be endless responsibilities turns to God for His intervention—for His comforting reassurance—only to be met with silence. That awful silence!
A lingering illness eats away at body and soul day after day. No prayer, it seems, is effective. As the deafening silence continues from above, the pain intensifies below.
Believe it or not, God speaks even in such silence. How? “The heavens proclaim the glory of God” (Psalm 19:1).
What does the grand song of the skies proclaim during those anguishing times of silence on earth?
Without saying a word, the heavens declare God’s divine attributes: His creative power, His sovereign control, His consistent faithfulness, just to name a few.
In response, we pray along with the psalmist:
May the words of my mouth
and the meditation of my heart
be pleasing to you,
O Lord, my rock and my redeemer. (19:14)
Each day, as you bask in the sunlight of God’s presence, claim His message to you.
Thank Him for His power that holds the stars in place, His control that keeps the planets on course, and His faithfulness that greets you every sunrise.
Let the “words of your mouth” and “meditation of your heart” focus on what you know is true about God, and He will no longer seem so distant or silent.