A Prayer Because the Silence Is the Hardest Part

0:00Life Audio Thank you for listening to your daily prayer, or we help you find the words you need to connect to your Father in heaven. No matter what is happening in your life today, you can trust that God wants to hear from you. Right after this short word from our sponsors, we'll pray to Jesus' prayer because the silence is the hardest part. Is your education moving at the speed of the world around you? Grand Canyon University doesn't settle for the status quo. They shatter it. At GCU, they offer industry-driven programs built to move at the speed of relevance, focusing on practical skills and career readiness for every learner. With over 132,000 students joining in, both on campus and online, GCU is proving that

1:04education can be affordable and exceptional. GCU is purpose-driven education. Find your purpose today at gcu.edu. Hey listeners, it's Kelly from Life Audio. We know life gets busy, and sometimes it's easy for your faith to get pushed to the side. That's why we created the Good Word, a free weekly newsletter designed to give you a moment to slow down, be encouraged, and reconnect with what matters most. God's Word. Inside, you'll find devotionals, guided prayers, podcast recommendations, and other faith-built content we think you'll love. No ads, no clutter. Just good content to help you stay rooted in God's Word throughout your week. Find out for the Good Word today at lifeaudio.com-forward-slash-the-good-word. That's lifeaudio.com-forward-slash-the-good-word. A prayer because the silence is the hardest part.

2:14Written by Rachel Bojo, read by Carrie Eggbruder. Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you. Therefore, he will rise up to show you compassion. For the Lord is a God of justice. Blessed are all who wait for him. I say at 30, verse 18. I can still see the dusty rose bedspread in a dorm room I'd share with five other girls. The bedspread my mother and I had chosen looked so out of place against those walls. My parents didn't linger when it was time to say goodbye. There were hugs and a few last instructions, then they were walking down the hall, and then they were gone. The room filled and emptied all day. Girls came in with laundry baskets and boxes, said their names, and left again. And then at some point, everyone was out at once. And I was alone in a room built for six. I wasn't homesick, exactly.

3:15Though I just turned 17, I had longed for this moment of independence. But I also wanted my parents. It was a strange feeling, because I didn't want them to come back and get me. I just wanted to know they were close enough to reach. We had agreed I'd call home on the weekends. But sitting in that choir room, I decided the arrangement was a test. I would not call before Friday. I would prove I could do this. So I sat in the silence and counted the days, and I told myself counting was strength. Isaiah is writing to people who had a similar idea. Judah was facing a threat, and God had already told them what to do about it. Return, rest, be quiet, and most of all, trust. That's verse 15. And verse 15 ends with four of the saddest words in the book. But you would have none of it. They had another plan. They went to Egypt for horses and chariot.

4:17They wanted a solution they could see. It needed to be tangible, something with hooves and wheels, or something that felt like doing, rather than waiting. God offered them rest, and they went looking for something more impressive. And then comes today's key verse, verse 18. After all that refusing, God doesn't withdraw. Yet the Lord longs to be gracious to you. Therefore, He will rise up to show you compassion. The word yet is really the hinge of the whole passage. Yet, after you went to Egypt. Yet, after you would have none of it. Yet, after you decided, you'd rather handle this yourself. Look at what God does then. He rises up. He's not a God who has gone quiet and gone away. The keeper behind longs carries the sense of waiting with intent. Waiting, the way you wait when you're watching the driveway.

5:18He's in anticipation of what comes next. What is this passage actually saying about silence? God wasn't withholding. He was waiting. The reason nothing was happening was not that he had run out of compassion. It was that his people had decided they'd rather earn it. I don't think God was quiet during my first pick of college. I think I had confused presence with sound. My parents were a hundred miles away, and I couldn't hear them. So they felt gone. God was in that dorm room, and I couldn't hear him. So he felt gone too. But a silent room is not an empty room. And waiting until Friday was not a string. It was Egypt. It was a 17-year-old with a rule she'd made up. If using the phone on the wall, because using it would mean she couldn't do this on her own. Eventually, I found the new rhythms. I made friends and got to know the campus.

6:19Pretty soon, I stopped counting the days until I could talk to mom and dad. The silence didn't get easier because it got quieter. It got easier because I stopped thinking that silence meant absence. I figured out how to pick up the phone whenever I needed to. Even when it wasn't Friday evening. I learned how to speak love from a far. If you're in a season, what heaven seems to have nothing to say? I want you to consider something, both uncomfortable and freeing. Smok the silence we blame on God is silence we are keeping. We've decided we have to prove something first. We've decided there's a Friday night we haven't earned our way to yet. He is not waiting for you to be worth answering. He is just waiting for you. Let's pray. Heavenly Father, I'm sitting in the quiet today and it's loud. You know that. You know how many times I've checked to see if you've said anything and how many times

7:21I've come away with nothing I could hear. Lord I confess, it's some of this silence is mine. I've been proving something. I've been going to Egypt for horses when you told me to rest. I made up a rule about when I was allowed to come to you and then I called the rule strength. But you say you long to be gracious to me. You say you rise up to show me compassion. Not when I've earned it. Not just one day, but every day. Help me stop confusing presence with sound. Help me sit in this room and believe your hear even when nothing in it says so. I don't need you to explain this silence. I need to know your in it. You've been waiting for me this whole time. I surrender myself to you today. Help me stop making you wait. In Jesus' name. Amen. Don't miss this. If you're still praying and starting to wonder if it's working, Rachel Wojo wrote,

8:24praying through life's battles, 90 days to strengthen your faith for you. You can order it now at battleprairs.com. Until next time, remember, guide C.C.U hears you and he knows your needs. Your daily prayer is a production of life audio and salamedia. If you haven't already, be sure to follow the show and your favorite podcast app so you never miss an episode. For more faith-filled inspirational podcasts, visit us at lifeaudio.com. What do you do when the world around you is falling apart? It's amazing to me how many people are breathing air. They're going about their business and doing the things you're supposed to do. But if you really ask them, they know that on the inside, they are spiritually and emotionally

9:28and relationally dead. If we're not careful, all of us can experience that death. When what we need to do, even as the world around us is falling apart, we need to learn how to march when it would be easier to stay where we are and die. Join me each week on the Marcher Dice Show as we discuss that and so much more. The historical Jesus podcast is the sweeping saga of the life and times of Galilean, Jesus of Nazareth, as well as the faith, religion, and church founded to honor and disseminate his acts and teachings. Join me, Mark Vinet, on this fascinating journey through time exploring the many great works of Christian theology, literature, architecture, music, and art inspired by the words and deeds of Jesus Christ.