Bridging the Silence: Hearing God's Voice
Summary
In our journey of faith, we often grapple with the question of whether God is truly interested in us. Beyond the intellectual debates about His existence, what we deeply yearn for is a personal connection with Him. We want to know if He cares about our lives and if He responds when we reach out in prayer. Many of us have experienced moments of silence, where it feels like our prayers go unanswered, leading to doubt and confusion. This struggle is not uncommon, as even those who once believed may turn away when they feel their prayers are not heard.
The story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan offers a profound metaphor for our spiritual journey. Helen, who was both deaf and blind, lived in a world of darkness and isolation until Anne found a way to communicate with her. By placing Helen's hand under running water and spelling the word "water" on her other hand, Anne bridged the gap between Helen's isolated world and the vibrant world around her. This breakthrough is akin to our experience with God. We may feel like we are fumbling in the dark, but God reaches out to us, spelling Himself out in a language we can understand through Jesus Christ.
Christianity teaches that God is not distant or silent. He has spoken to us through Jesus, the Word made flesh, who came to bridge the gap between humanity and the divine. Jesus is God's way of communicating with us, ensuring that we are never truly alone. The Bible serves as a tangible resource, a love letter from God, providing guidance and assurance even when our feelings waver. Moreover, the Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, acts as our interpreter, helping us understand God's voice in our lives.
In times of silence or unanswered prayers, we must remember that God is always speaking. Creation itself declares His glory, and sometimes His answers come in unexpected ways or through a process of waiting. Trusting in God's timing and purpose, even when faced with a "no," is crucial. Jesus experienced the ultimate silence on the cross so that we would never have to. Our challenge is to learn to hear His voice, to trust in His presence, and to recognize that what feels like silence is often God speaking in ways we may not yet understand.
Key Takeaways:
- Our deepest longing is for a personal connection with God, beyond intellectual debates about His existence. We yearn to know if He cares about us and responds to our prayers. [00:25]
- The story of Helen Keller illustrates our spiritual journey. Just as Anne Sullivan bridged the gap for Helen, Jesus bridges the gap between us and God, making divine communication possible. [02:38]
- God is not silent; He has spoken through Jesus, the Word made flesh. The Bible serves as a tangible resource, providing guidance and assurance even when our feelings waver. [04:07]
- In times of silence or unanswered prayers, we must trust in God's timing and purpose. Jesus experienced ultimate silence on the cross so that we would never have to. [08:50]
- Our challenge is to learn to hear God's voice, to trust in His presence, and to recognize that what feels like silence is often God speaking in ways we may not yet understand. [09:24]
Youtube Chapters:
[00:00] - Welcome
[00:16] - The Question of God's Interest
[00:46] - Struggles with Silence
[01:21] - Helen Keller's Story
[02:26] - The Breakthrough Moment
[03:00] - Christianity's Unique Claim
[03:42] - God Has Spoken
[04:21] - Learning God's Language
[05:05] - The Bible as God's Love Letter
[05:39] - The Holy Spirit as Interpreter
[06:11] - Trusting in God's Timing
[07:02] - Personal Testimony of Silence
[08:26] - Jesus' Experience of Silence
[09:24] - Learning to Hear God's Voice
Study Guide
Bible Study Discussion Guide
Bible Reading:
1. John 1:14 - "The Word became flesh and made his dwelling among us. We have seen his glory, the glory of the one and only Son, who came from the Father, full of grace and truth."
2. Psalm 19:1-2 - "The heavens declare the glory of God; the skies proclaim the work of his hands. Day after day they pour forth speech; night after night they reveal knowledge."
3. Romans 8:26 - "In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans."
Observation Questions:
1. How does the story of Helen Keller and Anne Sullivan serve as a metaphor for our spiritual journey with God? [02:38]
2. What role does Jesus play in bridging the gap between humanity and God according to the sermon? [04:07]
3. How is the Bible described in the sermon, and what purpose does it serve for believers? [05:05]
4. What does the sermon suggest about God's communication with us during times of silence or unanswered prayers? [06:11]
Interpretation Questions:
1. In what ways does the sermon suggest that Jesus is God's way of communicating with us? How does this relate to John 1:14? [04:07]
2. How does the sermon interpret the experience of silence in prayer, and what does it suggest about God's presence during these times? [09:24]
3. What is the significance of the Holy Spirit as an interpreter in our relationship with God, as mentioned in the sermon? [05:39]
4. How does the sermon use the story of Jesus on the cross to explain the concept of divine silence and communication? [08:50]
Application Questions:
1. Reflect on a time when you felt like your prayers were met with silence. How did you respond, and what might you do differently now in light of the sermon? [06:02]
2. The sermon suggests that God speaks to us in unexpected ways. Can you identify a recent experience where you felt God was communicating with you? How did you recognize it? [06:11]
3. How can you use the Bible as a resource to feel connected to God, especially when you feel distant or uncertain? [05:05]
4. In what ways can you become more attuned to the Holy Spirit's guidance in your daily life? What practices might help you in this process? [05:39]
5. The sermon mentions trusting in God's timing and purpose. How can you cultivate patience and trust in God's plan, especially when facing a "no" or a period of waiting? [06:32]
6. How can the metaphor of Helen Keller's breakthrough inspire you to seek a deeper understanding of God's presence in your life? [02:38]
7. Consider the idea that Jesus experienced ultimate silence on the cross so that we would never have to. How does this perspective change your view of God's presence in your life? [08:50]
Devotional
Day 1: Yearning for Divine Connection
In our spiritual journey, we often find ourselves longing for a personal connection with God, beyond mere intellectual debates about His existence. This deep yearning is rooted in our desire to know if God truly cares about us and responds to our prayers. Many people experience moments of silence, where it feels like their prayers go unanswered, leading to doubt and confusion. This struggle is not uncommon, and even those who once believed may turn away when they feel their prayers are not heard. However, the essence of faith is to trust that God is interested in our lives and is always reaching out to us, even when we cannot perceive it. [00:25]
Psalm 139:1-4 (ESV): "O Lord, you have searched me and known me! You know when I sit down and when I rise up; you discern my thoughts from afar. You search out my path and my lying down and are acquainted with all my ways. Even before a word is on my tongue, behold, O Lord, you know it altogether."
Reflection: Think of a time when you felt distant from God. How can you intentionally seek to reconnect with Him today, perhaps through prayer, meditation, or reading Scripture?
Day 2: Bridging the Gap
The story of Helen Keller and her teacher Anne Sullivan serves as a powerful metaphor for our spiritual journey. Helen, who was both deaf and blind, lived in a world of darkness and isolation until Anne found a way to communicate with her. By placing Helen's hand under running water and spelling the word "water" on her other hand, Anne bridged the gap between Helen's isolated world and the vibrant world around her. Similarly, Jesus bridges the gap between us and God, making divine communication possible. Through Jesus, God reaches out to us, spelling Himself out in a language we can understand. [02:38]
Ephesians 2:13-14 (ESV): "But now in Christ Jesus you who once were far off have been brought near by the blood of Christ. For he himself is our peace, who has made us both one and has broken down in his flesh the dividing wall of hostility."
Reflection: Consider a barrier in your life that feels insurmountable. How can you invite Jesus to help you bridge that gap and bring peace into that situation?
Day 3: God Speaks Through Jesus
Christianity teaches that God is not distant or silent. He has spoken to us through Jesus, the Word made flesh, who came to bridge the gap between humanity and the divine. Jesus is God's way of communicating with us, ensuring that we are never truly alone. The Bible serves as a tangible resource, a love letter from God, providing guidance and assurance even when our feelings waver. In times of silence or unanswered prayers, we must remember that God is always speaking, and sometimes His answers come in unexpected ways or through a process of waiting. [04:07]
Hebrews 1:1-2 (ESV): "Long ago, at many times and in many ways, God spoke to our fathers by the prophets, but in these last days he has spoken to us by his Son, whom he appointed the heir of all things, through whom also he created the world."
Reflection: Reflect on a recent situation where you felt God was silent. How might God have been speaking to you in unexpected ways during that time?
Day 4: Trusting in God's Timing
In times of silence or unanswered prayers, it is crucial to trust in God's timing and purpose. Jesus experienced the ultimate silence on the cross so that we would never have to. Our challenge is to learn to hear His voice, to trust in His presence, and to recognize that what feels like silence is often God speaking in ways we may not yet understand. Trusting in God's timing requires patience and faith, knowing that His plans for us are always for our good, even when we cannot see the bigger picture. [08:50]
Ecclesiastes 3:11 (ESV): "He has made everything beautiful in its time. Also, he has put eternity into man's heart, yet so that he cannot find out what God has done from the beginning to the end."
Reflection: Identify an area of your life where you are struggling to trust God's timing. What steps can you take today to surrender this area to Him and embrace His perfect timing?
Day 5: Learning to Hear God's Voice
Our spiritual journey involves learning to hear God's voice and trusting in His presence. What feels like silence is often God speaking in ways we may not yet understand. The Holy Spirit, dwelling within us, acts as our interpreter, helping us understand God's voice in our lives. Creation itself declares His glory, and sometimes His answers come in unexpected ways or through a process of waiting. By cultivating a deeper relationship with God, we can become more attuned to His voice and recognize His presence in our lives. [09:24]
1 Kings 19:11-12 (ESV): "And he said, 'Go out and stand on the mount before the Lord.' And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind tore the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind. And after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake. And after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire. And after the fire the sound of a low whisper."
Reflection: Think about a recent decision or situation where you need guidance. How can you create space in your life to listen for God's whisper and discern His guidance?
Quotes
i think this is um this is kind of where the brother hits the road because at the end of the day you can talk and talk in circles about just what exists is he out there but what we really want to know is i mean none of that would matter if he's not interested in us you know like that's what we really care about deep down isn't it like beyond the questions of existence like god if you're there to actually do you actually want to know me like are you interested in my life like are you a god who who's going to come close to me who actually cares enough to to respond when when i'm reaching out when i'm praying that agnostics pran [00:09:36]
and so you know what do we do with those feelings of like when we're struggling to to hear from him when we are trying to reach out um and i think this is i you know i even met recently we met an atheist that was a story you know he was he he'd been praying as a teenager and felt like that prayer wasn't answered and and that's why he's an atheist today i think you know i have a family member who has that same story and that's it's really hard when when you feel like the experience isn't lining up with this sort of you know you come to a place of sort of intellectually believing it but you're not feeling it somehow [00:42:56]
and so anne had been with her for like six months and the way she was trying to reach out to her was when she was writing on her hand like letters she would be like drawing letters on her hand to try and get her to to have some sense of communication that it you know it wasn't clicking like because how have those dots join up for you right like just random letters on your hand how do you start to relate that to the world out there in some sense that you can hear that you can feel like you're being communicated with that that it's meaningful to you but then when the penny dropped for her was so one day she so she took her hand and she put it under like a tap of running water on one hand and then on the other hand she spelt the word water [00:22:24]
and there was something about that experience it destroyed the dots for her the experience of running words like this physical tangible and something and then the spelling of the word and suddenly you know language came together and she for the first time it clicked and from there they were able to build this language she was finally came out of the dark and was able to like experience the world and be spoken to you and be communicated with and when i heard that story i just thought oh my goodness that's christianity right like that's christianity like you know as people we're we're fumbling around in the dark as human beings we have this kind of sense maybe there's like a god out there but he's so far beyond our reach we cannot get to him we can't we can't just reach out and make him talk to us we can't make sense of him how can we possibly do that you know [00:26:56]
every other religion it talks about going up the mountain to meet god or finding your path but i hear those things i'm like that's not going to get you anywhere how are you going to get to god like he's he's so much bigger but the christian faith says no like you may feel like god is silent but god has spoken god has come to you god is that like living water that running water over your hand that has come down to you when you're in the dark and you cannot nothing is meaningful he said i am here and i'm gonna i'm gonna speak to you i'm gonna join up these dots for you so that you can know me so that you can have me communicate with you someone someone said you know um jesus is god's spelling himself out in human language so that we can understand and that's it that's what it is that when jesus came that was god coming to us that was good saying i'm not going to stay silent i am a speaking god and i'm going to speak to you here's the word made flesh he's the word made flesh [00:31:12]
and so god has spoken to you and i think if we can understand that if we can understand who jesus is and what it means that he came in history vince has just laid that out he actually came this is historic it's verifiable you can test it you can find the evidence but if god came in jesus that means god has spoken to you and so this question then isn't really about is god speaking to me is he silent it's more about how do i if i'm kind of learning this language to to understand god's speaking how do i do that how do i come to a place where i can actually hear him because i have been deaf and blind my whole life and now i'm learning this language and jesus says that you know my sheep will know my voice but that's a process of learning but god has given us tools to help us he gave us the bible and how powerful is that that he knew by ourselves and we're just going off our feelings that's so open to manipulation we'll get so confused do i know it's god or is it just what i want to hear you know how do i know but the bible is an external resource it's god's love letter to us written by so many people inspired by the holy spirit so that you can know beyond yourself hey i may not feel much from god today but god is speaking to me today if i want to hear from god i can literally go and open up his word and he will speak [00:43:00]
and but more than that it you know once you come to know jesus when you pray that prayer and invite god in god himself the spirit of god comes to live in you the same person who inspired the bible the same spirit of jesus he gave up on the cross when he breathed out and gave us his spirit and he's living in you so you actually have an interpreter helen keller had anne sullivan you have an interpreter not just you know scratching things on your palm but living within you you know to be god communicating with you so god is committed to speaking to you god is reaching out to you [00:54:56]
and so then when it comes to those personal moments where sometimes in our lives it we feel like we're like god okay like maybe we're god who speaks but i'm not feeling it right now i feel like i'm just getting silence i think we have to hold it in that framework of saying but god is always speaking to me you know the heavens declare the glory of god night after night they're pouring out speech creation even through creation god is always always reaching out and sometimes it's hard for us to hear because we don't get that immediate yes to whatever question we're asking of him whatever we're bringing to him we might not hear that yes right away sometimes it's a weight or it's not yet and that's hard to hear but the question is do we trust him and i think when we can look back at jesus we know that's a god who's for us so even in that waiting we can trust that there's a god who's at work and he was actually saying maybe there's something you may not feel it right now but maybe there's something better about this process of waiting that's going to be more important in your life more meaningful to who you are becoming your ultimate destiny than me giving you what you want right away right now because you're leaning into me and you're learning to depend on me and you're learning how to hear my voice in this process that we're on and sometimes it's harder because the answer is no and that's when it really feels like god is silent [01:00:56]
but god was speaking we drove that restaurant there was a sign lit up that said luca luca means light by the way that's why we chose that name and then the day that i that i finally lost my child that morning i was at work and i didn't know that would be the day but someone just came and said i just want to pray for you today and she knew that i was having a miscarriage but didn't know the name of our child and as she was praying for me she just said joe god has put a light in you and that light is never going to stop shining you know and and in the end we kind of came to understand some of you don't always get to know why there's a no in our case we got a bit of that because we got to jj here we got jonathan um and so you know i have that sense of we are a family with i'm a mother of three i have a you know a child in heaven whose light is never going to stop shining and we will be together but even in those times when you don't get to know some of the reason behind the no we can still look at jesus and know that god is speaking in fact the only person whose prayer was ever met with an existential silence with a kind of chasm of emptiness and avoid was jesus when he prayed on the cross he prayed my god my god why be forsaken me i believe that's the only prayer god actually doesn't answer and he's met with this like empty gaping chasm of silence why because when jesus was on the cross and he died for us he became sin for us and so he actually received those consequences of a life where we've distanced ourselves from god where relationship is broken where there is no communication but jesus didn't have that prayer answered he was met with silence so that we would literally never have that experience there is no silence for us because jesus faced it for us [01:14:24]
and so in those moments we're like oh where are you like why aren't you speaking he has spoken his word is speaking today his holy spirit is in you and he's speaking and so i think our prayer is just like god help me to understand what what feels like science i know is not actually silence and so would you keep just being that like living water like running across my palm just speaking to me help me to come out of the darkness and he learn to hear your voice in a deeper way and let me be like a sheep who knows the voice of the shepherd [01:23:12]
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