What if God is Silent?

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Prayer works!

Prayer Changes the way God Acts!
“If it is coincidence, I sure have a lot more coincidences when I pray than when I don’t.” - unknown
James 4:2 HCSB
You desire and do not have. You murder and covet and cannot obtain. You fight and war. You do not have because you do not ask.
Luke 11:9–10 HCSB
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.
Exodus 32:9–14 HCSB
The Lord also said to Moses: “I have seen this people, and they are indeed a stiff-necked people. Now leave Me alone, so that My anger can burn against them and I can destroy them. Then I will make you into a great nation.” But Moses interceded with the Lord his God: “Lord, why does Your anger burn against Your people You brought out of the land of Egypt with great power and a strong hand? Why should the Egyptians say, ‘He brought them out with an evil intent to kill them in the mountains and wipe them off the face of the earth’? Turn from Your great anger and relent concerning this disaster planned for Your people. Remember Your servants Abraham, Isaac, and Israel—You swore to them by Your very self and declared, ‘I will make your offspring as numerous as the stars of the sky and will give your offspring all this land that I have promised, and they will inherit it forever.’ ” So the Lord relented concerning the disaster He said He would bring on His people.
2 Chronicles 7:14 HCSB
and My people who are called by My name humble themselves, pray and seek My face, and turn from their evil ways, then I will hear from heaven, forgive their sin, and heal their land.
2 Chronicles
1 John 1:9 HCSB
If we confess our sins, He is faithful and righteous to forgive us our sins and to cleanse us from all unrighteousness.
Luke 11:9–10 HCSB
“So I say to you, keep asking, and it will be given to you. Keep searching, and you will find. Keep knocking, and the door will be opened to you. For everyone who asks receives, and the one who searches finds, and to the one who knocks, the door will be opened.

Effective Prayer is ONLY Possible in Christ!

1 Timothy 2:5 HCSB
For there is one God and one mediator between God and humanity, Christ Jesus, Himself human,
John 14:6 HCSB
Jesus told him, “I am the way, the truth, and the life. No one comes to the Father except through Me.
Hebrews 10:19–20 HCSB
Therefore, brothers, since we have boldness to enter the sanctuary through the blood of Jesus, by a new and living way He has opened for us through the curtain (that is, His flesh ),

Reasons Why God may be Silent

If God has not answered your prayer, its okey, your in good company!
If God has not answered your prayer, its okey, your in good company!
Jesus prayed “Let this cup pass from me” and it didn’t!
Paul prayed and asked God to remove the thorn from his flesh” and He didn’t!

God may be saying no.

God may have a plan that you do not know and you would not understand!
Genesis 50:20 HCSB
You planned evil against me; God planned it for good to bring about the present result—the survival of many people.
God always answers according to His Will
Matthew 6:10 HCSB
Your kingdom come. Your will be done on earth as it is in heaven.
Romans 8:26–27 HCSB
In the same way the Spirit also joins to help in our weakness, because we do not know what to pray for as we should, but the Spirit Himself intercedes for us with unspoken groanings. And He who searches the hearts knows the Spirit’s mind-set, because He intercedes for the saints according to the will of God.
Matthew 6:

God may be saying keep praying.

You may need to exam your heart.
You may need to exam your heart.
Prayer in itself draws us nearer to the Lord! It increases our faith, it is an act of worship, it glorifies God when His people call out to Him. We pray because He’s God and we can’t make it through life alone! Prayer is obedience, we pray because he commands us to pray!
Doubt
James 1:6–8 HCSB
But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.
Selfish motives
James 4:3 HCSB
You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.
Unrepentant Sin in your lives
1 Peter 3:7 HCSB
Husbands, in the same way, live with your wives with an understanding of their weaker nature yet showing them honor as coheirs of the grace of life, so that your prayers will not be hindered.
1 Peter 3:12 HCSB
because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.

God may be saying keep praying.

Colossians 4:2 HCSB
Devote yourselves to prayer; stay alert in it with thanksgiving.
1 Thessalonians 5:17 HCSB
Pray constantly.
Proverbs 3:5 HCSB
Trust in the Lord with all your heart, and do not rely on your own understanding;

God may have already answered you. (Scripture)

God may have already answered you. (Scripture)
Romans 15:4 HCSB
For whatever was written in the past was written for our instruction, so that we may have hope through endurance and through the encouragement from the Scriptures.
2 Timothy 3:16–17 HCSB
All Scripture is inspired by God and is profitable for teaching, for rebuking, for correcting, for training in righteousness, so that the man of God may be complete, equipped for every good work.
2 Timothy 2:15 HCSB
Be diligent to present yourself approved to God, a worker who doesn’t need to be ashamed, correctly teaching the word of truth.

You may need to exam your heart.

“True prayer is neither a mere mental exercise nor a vocal performance. It is far deeper than that - it is a spiritual transaction with the creator of Heaven and Earth.” - Spurgeon
Doubt
James 1:6–8 HCSB
But let him ask in faith without doubting. For the doubter is like the surging sea, driven and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. An indecisive man is unstable in all his ways.
Mark 11:24 HCSB
Therefore I tell you, all the things you pray and ask for —believe that you have received them, and you will have them.
Mark 11:
Selfish motives
James 4:3 HCSB
You ask and don’t receive because you ask with wrong motives, so that you may spend it on your evil desires.
Unrepentant Sin in your lives
1 Peter 3:12 HCSB
because the eyes of the Lord are on the righteous and His ears are open to their request. But the face of the Lord is against those who do what is evil.

What to do when God is silent:

Put your faith in Christ!
2 Corinthians 12:8–9 HCSB
Concerning this, I pleaded with the Lord three times to take it away from me. But He said to me, “My grace is sufficient for you, for power is perfected in weakness.” Therefore, I will most gladly boast all the more about my weaknesses, so that Christ’s power may reside in me.
Put your faith in Christ!
Believe that prayer works!
Believe that prayer works!
Exam our hearts at the onset of any prayer!
Spend time in scripture searching for Wisdom from the Lord.
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