Editor's note: Enjoy today's devotion from Hope for the Heartbroken by Karen Ehman, Ruth Schwenk & Amber Emily Smith.
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I cry out to You, God, but You do not answer; I stand up, but You merely look at me. — Job 30:20
Ponder
I will never forget the night I sat on the kitchen floor, my back against the wall, sobbing until I could hardly breathe. It was after my third miscarriage—twenty weeks along—and the baby’s heart had simply stopped beating. No warning. No explanation. Just silence.
The doctors could give no cause. And God? It felt like He was silent too.
In those moments, when there is no rhyme or reason for the heartbreak, it can feel like your prayers are floating into the air and disappearing. You wonder why God won’t speak, why He doesn’t step in, why He allows the ache to stretch on and on. You search for meaning, but all you can hear is the quiet. The silence itself can feel like another kind of loss—an absence layered on top of fresh grief.
Job understood that kind of silence. In his suffering he said, “I cry out to You, God, but You do not answer” (Job 30:20). Job’s words echo the ache of so many hearts—including mine.
The Bible doesn’t hide these moments. It names them. It gives us permission to feel them. To question. To weep. To wait.
And yet Scripture also shows us what to do with them. Psalm 13 begins with David’s cry, “How long, Lord? Will You forget me forever?” but ends with, “But I trust in Your unfailing love” (verse 5). David didn’t wait until he felt like trusting God. He declared it in the middle of the ache. His trust wasn’t rooted in circumstances but in God’s unchanging character.
What I’ve learned is that God’s silence does not mean His absence.
Though I could not hear His voice during those years, I can look back now and see His presence—in the friends who showed up, in the strength I didn’t know I had, in the hope that somehow still flickered inside me.
If you are in a season where God feels silent, know this:
Your cries are still reaching His ears. He is still with you in the quiet, holding space for your sorrow. His love for you has not changed—and it never will.
Pen
Think about a time when you prayed and it seemed like God did not answer. Write down what you prayed for, how long you waited, and how you felt when the answer didn’t come—or still hasn’t come.
Now list two or three small ways you experienced God’s presence in that season, even if they weren’t the answers you hoped for.
Practice and Pray
Read the words we’re learning from Lamentations 3:19–20:
I remember my affliction and my wandering, the bitterness and the gall. I well remember them, and my soul is downcast within me.
Now, answer these questions.
How does remembering your loss affect your heart and body? Notice how your grief shows up in your body, and offer that awareness to God.
Sometimes remembering our affliction helps us see how far God has carried us. Can you think of a time when remembering the hard parts of your story revealed a glimpse of His faithfulness?
Spend time in prayer today, finishing this prayer in your own words.
Father, it’s hard to understand why You don’t show up in the way I long for You to. Sometimes Your silence feels like distance. But I believe You still hear me. Help me to trust that Your love has not changed, even when I can’t see what You’re doing. Give me eyes to notice the ways You are near...
Pause
Read Psalm 13 in its entirety. Notice how David moved from raw lament to a declaration of trust:
But I trust in Your unfailing love. — verse 5
Today, make a list of specific things about God’s character that you can hold on to, even in the silence—such as His faithfulness, His goodness, or His presence. Now spend time reflecting on how you’ve experienced each of those attributes of His character in your life.
God’s silence does not mean His absence.
Pathway
Do something this week that intentionally invites God’s presence into your quiet season.
Here are some ideas to get you started:
✦ Light a candle while you pray.
✦ Listen to worship music or a song that helps your soul breathe.
✦ Go for a walk in nature while talking to Him.
✦ Read a Bible story in which God draws near to those who called out to Him, like Hagar’s story in Genesis 16, or how God was with the Israelites in the wilderness in Exodus 13.
✦ Keep a “presence journal” to document times you felt God was near.
✦ End each day with a short prayer, asking God to meet you in the quiet and remind you that you’re not alone.
Even if you don’t always feel His nearness, choose to keep the conversation going.
~ Ruth Schwenk
Excerpted with permission from Hope for the Heartbroken by Karen Ehman, Ruth Schwenk & Amber Emily Smith, copyright Karen Ehman, Ruth Schwenk, and Amber Emily Smith.
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Your Turn
Do you have unanswered prayers today? Does it seem like God has gone silent on you? He is not absent! Invite Him in and tell Him everything. He’s here. ~ Devotionals Daily
