Sometimes you just want to be quiet. No one offended you. Nothing particularly happened. You are not angry with anyone; you simply need some peace and quiet. You want to withdraw from the noise, sit somewhere alone, gather your thoughts, simply breathe and rest. Silence is not often a sign of trouble; it could be a space where you do not feel the need to say anything.

Interestingly, there are moments when God also seems silent. You pray, but there is no immediate answer. You search the Scriptures, yet no specific instructions seem to emerge. You ask, “Lord, what should I do?” and the witness of the Spirit appears quiet. You have not necessarily done anything wrong, and God has not abandoned you.

The challenge, however, is that we are often uncomfortable with silence. We want an answer, a response, a confirmation, or at least some indication that we are still on the right path. There are moments when God seems to say nothing—not because He has nothing to say, but because He is doing something that does not require another word.

Scripture reveals that God's silence is not always the same thing. Sometimes it is a call to wait. Sometimes it is an invitation to trust. Sometimes it is preparation. And sometimes, as in the case of Saul, it can be a warning that calls for obedience or repentance. The wisdom, therefore, is not merely recognising that God is silent, but discerning what His silence means.

1. Silence Does Not Mean Absence

I can imagine the look on the disciples’ faces as they battled a life-or-death storm, while Jesus slept quietly. They cried, “Master, carest thou not that we perish?” (Mark 4:38). To them, His silence looked like indifference. Yet Jesus was present in that boat.

There will be seasons when prayers will seem unanswered, direction seems unclear, and expectations seem delayed. Yet the character of God has not changed. “I will never leave thee, nor forsake thee” (Hebrews 13:5). The absence of a new word does not cancel the truth of the last word.

Jesus rose in the midst of the storm and rebuked the wind: “Peace, be still.” And there was a great calm. But that was not the lesson; the lesson was in His reply to them: “Why are ye so fearful? How is it that ye have no faith?” (Mark 4:39–40).

Earlier in that chapter, Jesus had taught His disciples a great deal about faith—not merely to be hearers of the Word, but doers also. “If any man have ears to hear, let him hear. And he said unto them, Take heed what ye hear” (Mark 4:23–24).

Sometimes, what we need most in a silent season is not a fresh revelation, but confidence in what God has already revealed.

2. Act on Last Clear Word

When the next instruction is unclear, revisit the last instruction that was clear.

Kenneth E. Hagin, in his book The Believer’s Authority, recounts his third vision of Jesus in December 1952 in Broken Bow, Oklahoma. Jesus appeared and began teaching him for roughly an hour and a half about the devil, demons, evil spirits, and what Hagin understood as the believer’s authority.

Near the end of the vision, Hagin says an evil spirit resembling a monkey suddenly ran between him and Jesus. It produced what looked like a black cloud or smoke screen, obscuring Hagin’s view of Jesus. Then it began jumping around and making a loud, shrill noise.

Hagin could hear that Jesus was speaking, but because of the demon's noise, he could no longer understand what Jesus was saying. Hagin became increasingly frustrated. In his mind, he was essentially thinking: Doesn't Jesus know I can't hear Him? Why doesn't He make this thing stop? He waited, expecting Jesus to rebuke the spirit. But according to Hagin, Jesus did nothing about it and simply continued speaking.

Finally, Hagin became desperate and commanded the spirit to be quiet in the Name of Jesus Christ. He says it immediately fell to the floor, the smoke disappeared, and he could see Jesus again. Brother Hagin then commanded the spirit to leave, and it did.

Thereafter, Jesus told him, “If you hadn't done something about that, I couldn't have.” Hagin thought he had heard incorrectly. He replied, in effect, “You mean You wouldn't have, don't You?” But Hagin says Jesus repeated that He meant “couldn't,” not “wouldn't.”

I recalled this story to buttress the point that spiritual maturity includes learning not to demand a fresh grace/insight for every decision, but to walk faithfully in the light God has already given. Scripture says, “I will give you a mouth and wisdom, which all your adversaries shall not be able to gainsay nor resist” (Luke 21:15).

Christ has not only been given to us as the power of God, but also as the wisdom of God (1 Corinthians 1:24, 30). Wisdom is knowing the right steps to take from the Word and taking them. Proverbs says, “A wise man scaleth the city of the mighty, and casteth down the strength of the confidence thereof” (Proverbs 21:22).

Abraham is a powerful example. God told him to leave his country and go to a land He would show him (Genesis 12:1). God did not give Abraham a complete itinerary. He gave him enough light for the next step. “By faith Abraham, when he was called to go out into a place which he should after receive for an inheritance, obeyed; and he went out, not knowing whither he went” (Hebrews 11:8).

If God has not revealed the next step, do not manufacture one simply because you are uncomfortable with uncertainty. Walk in the light you already have.

3. Silence Requires Trust

Parents understand this a little better, particularly when instructing their children. There are certain things you cannot explain to them; there are certain things that simply do not concern them. And there are times when silence itself is the best instruction and the best lesson to give.

I recall an old Van Damme movie. In the film, he had two children, a boy and a girl, whom he took to watch a hockey game. The bad guys came looking for him, so he placed the two children in their seats and said, “Do not go anywhere. Wait here. I am coming.”

The whole game soon began to fall apart, with gunshots, explosions, and chaos everywhere. After waiting a while, the little girl, overcome with anxiety, decided to go looking for her dad. Her brother tried to persuade her to stay and obey the instructions they had been given, but she would not listen. She eventually went off, was unfortunately captured by the bad guys, and was used as bait to lure her dad out.

After all the commotion and the rescue of his daughter, he returned to the seat where he had left his son and found him still there. I can never forget the boy’s words. In tears, he said, “Dad, I didn’t move.”

His dad hugged him and said, “I know, son.”

Ultimately, every believer will encounter moments where we’re left with only God's last clear instruction for a while. There will be situations where you have prayed sincerely, searched the Word carefully, sought wise counsel, and still do not have all the answers.

This is where trust becomes essential.

“Trust in the LORD with all thine heart; and lean not unto thine own understanding. In all thy ways acknowledge him, and he shall direct thy paths” (Proverbs 3:5–6).

Seasons of quietness must come with the quiet assurance that God is still God even when we do not see or know what He is doing. The Psalmist says, “Be still, and know that I am God” (Psalm 46:10). The mature believer must therefore learn to trust God when it seems ‘God has not spoken’.