All tagged silence

Not All Prayer is Answered Immediately

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, How to Pray

This morning we are looking at our prayers and their forward facing nature. In my morning reading Pastor E.M. Bounds proposed that although gratitude and thanksgiving are predominately about those things realized, our "prayer deals with things desired, asked for, and expected." He goes on to write "As prayer brings things to us that produce gratitude and thanksgiving, so praise and gratitude promote prayer and encourage more and better praying." I have found this to be true in my prayer life, and I hope you have also.

Is There Hope Where We See None?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Hope in Prayer

We can find ourselves waiting on the answer to a prayer that doesn’t seem to be coming, or at least coming anytime soon. We are suffering, or waiting to be rescued, and yet all we hear is the silence of God. But friends, we can rest assured of two things today; the first is that someone is experiencing this right now (possibly you) as they read these words, and the second is that help is on the way. We might lose hope as we suffer through the pain and fear in our lives, but God is ever faithful and true. When we feel lost or abandoned do we continue to pray? Or maybe we hear ourselves shouting out to the Lord in our frustration rather than finding strength in our anticipation and trust in Him.

Prayers with No Answer

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional, Unanswered Prayer

Are we prepared to pray? By that I mean, are we prepared to pray and receive the blessing that we are speaking with God about? So often we come to the Lord unprepared; living one life and praying as if we lived another. I was reading Oswald Chambers and he spoke a truth that cuts us deep; it answers in part the question of "why is my prayer not answered?" Let’s listen to what he has to say…

Why the Silence?

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Telling No One

This morning I was reading about Jesus before He experienced the passion, and how He allowed Peter, James, and John to see Him speak with Elijah and Moses on the mountain. In this scene He was transfigured right before their eyes. Even His clothing glowed... yet He commanded them not to tell anyone of this until He had risen from the dead... why the silence, and is this an unusual request?

Trusting completely in, and Leaning heavily on, our God

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Trust

When our enemies are marching against us, or problems appear ready to overcome us, we drop to our knees and pray, but quite often we hear only silence. However, God is not impressed with the strength of our adversaries like we are, nor does He fear the impending doom of problems that cause us to quake. He remains calm before calamity because it is He who has made the raging sea, and He who calms it. When facing the armies that assemble against us He remains still, even though our enemies might run at us like prides of lions. And, even if every pride in the land were gathered together as one, He is unimpressed, because they were made by His hand, and can be easily defeated with a single Word from His mouth. Do we doubt that God hears our prayers, or do we mistake His silence as a sign of fear or His inability to help us? Do we lean on Him as completely as we should… with all certainty?

The Spiritual Power of Silence

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Silence

The moments of our greatest strength are not those in which we lash out at our accusers, or argue against the injustice that faces us, but instead, our greatest strength is demonstrated in our silence, in the absolute confidence we have in God, and what is right in Him. The power of silence has never been more pronounced than during those telling minutes when Jesus faced the chief priests before Pilate… and said nothing. Is our faith this strong, and if not, do we pray for the day when it will be?

Waiting on God, and the Silent Lessons

Richard Forbes
Christian , Daily Devotional , Waiting in Silence

When we call upon the Lord in our times of hardship or trouble do we have the faith, trust, and the courage to wait on Him? Can we sit perfectly still in His shadow, like a rabbit frozen beneath a bush as the hounds approach, or does our fear mount within us until we flinch and run, renewing the chase once more? Trusting in God, and His promises, should give us the courage to wait on Him, but is our hope in Him strong enough?

Silence in Heaven

Richard Forbes
Christian, Daily Devotional , Silence

We always picture Heaven as a place filled with praise, the continuous sound of worship, and the smell of incense, but on occasion it is also silent, being filled with the Holy Silence of God. Sometimes silence comes with prayer, and everything becomes still except the smoke of our prayers themselves as they rise before God. Yes, what we pray as words on earth become much more in the spirit world... they become incense, and fill bowls made of gold, and spoken words become silent feelings.