The silence, however, is seldom permanent. Lewis later wrote these words: "I have gradually been coming to feel that the door is no longer shut and bolted.... [I was like] the drowning man who can't be helped because he clutches and grabs."2
So what was he clutching and grabbing? What was he missing in what first seemed like silence? Perhaps the most penetrating question is simply this: what happens when we call out to God?
According to the Bible, three things.
God Hears, Cares, Responds
When we pray, God hears us. The Bible states in no uncertain terms that "this is the confidence we have in approaching God: . . . he hears us" (1 John 5:14). When we pray, whether by spoken word, ritual or quiet anguish, our prayers ascend unencumbered to God's presence. But that's not all.
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When we pray, God cares. What we attempt to convey is more important to him than we could possibly imagine. The Bible asserts this as well: "Let him [God] have all your worries and cares, for he is always thinking about you and watching everything that concerns you" (1 Peter 5:7 LB). Notice the emphasis: God is concerned not simply with his grand plan but with our cares and concerns. When it comes to prayer, God's empathy knows no bounds.
But it is the Bible's third declaration that perplexes us. When we pray, God answers. The Bible is emphatic: there is no such thing as an unanswered prayer. "You say, 'He does not respond to people's complaints.' But God speaks again and again, though people do not recognize it" (Job 33:13-14 NLT).
Now you may be thinking, That isn't true. I specifically prayed for a Maserati sports car, and it's not sitting in my driveway, so I know God doesn't answer every prayer. I know — I've prayed that one too.
Or you may say, "Once I prayed that I would get to work on time — that was it, no big deal, no sweat off God's brow — and I got a flat tire."
More seriously, you may resonate with Lewis's feelings after his wife passed away. When you hear someone casually toss out that God answers every prayer, you say, "Listen, that's just not true. And I have the experience to prove it."
But the Bible doesn't back down when challenged on this. It stands by the declaration that God hears, cares and responds. Always.
So what is happening with God's answer?
In our struggle with God's perceived silence we must take into account an idea that is often alien to our sensibilities: that a prayer was not answered in the way we wanted it answered or thought it should have been answered, doesn't mean that an answer did not come directly from God. God promises to answer every prayer; how he chooses to answer is his affair. Consider the following ways a clear response from God might be mistaken for silence.