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As Pastors, we receive many prayer requests about hearing the Lord, or more specifically, not hearing Him. When people are in a difficult situation, it becomes difficult to hear Him, and too often, they begin to feel like failures. They blame themselves and feel as if there must be something wrong with them or that God is mad at them.

Nope. I have been there enough times myself, and it seems that when I feel that I really, really need to hear from the Lord, I get silence. Oh, He will let you scream, panic, cuss, and whine and not say a word, and it gets harder to hear Him over the bill collectors. The first few times, I thought it must be me, but as time went by, I began to realize that it was more than a coincidence.

At the start of 2012, I suddenly had a burning desire to spend quiet time with the Lord. Typically, I pray for a while in the mornings, but during this season, I was called every day at 3 PM to come aside for a while. I would come into this room, shut the door, put on some worship music, lay on the floor, and pray in the Spirit for one to three hours. The Lord's presence covered me like a warm blanket, and I heard some revelation, vision, or song from Him nearly every day. It was wonderful. There was nothing I would rather do, and nowhere I would rather be.

(Isaiah 55:6 NKJV) Seek the LORD while He may be found, Call upon Him while He is near.

Then, our computer business failed completely. It had been slowing down, but this time, the Lord brought it to an end. We began looking for jobs, but there were none to be found. When I prayed, I only heard silence, as if the heavens were made of brass. When we fasted, we were just hungry. When we gave, we just had more debt.

After several months without work and having burned through our savings, IRA, and gone into debt, I went through a "dark night of the soul" type of experience where I lost all hope. I felt like He had abandoned me when I really needed His help. I hadn't heard a whisper from the Lord in months. Finally, I stopped praying. I had prayed for months with my face to the floor and heard nothing.

Eventually, the week came when we could no longer pay the utility bills, and we began planning on moving out of our home and in with family till we could find work. I came into this room and sat down on a bean bag in the corner. I didn't pray or say a word. I just sat in silence and was mostly thinking about how much I would miss our home.

This had never happened to me before, but I fell into a trance like Peter and had a vision (Acts 10:10–11). It was like a movie screen appeared before me, and I saw myself climbing into a boxing ring and putting on the gloves. The view was from behind me, and it looked as if I was alone. Then the camera panned around to the front, and I could see the Lord behind me, outside the ring like a coach. He said these words that I will never forget:

"You are not alone, for I am in your corner, and I have prepared you for this day. Now get in there and fight!"

Then, the Holy Spirit rushed into the room, covered me, and I began to weep. I didn't yet know how, but I knew something had changed, for His presence was back. I came out of the room and told Sylvia it was going to be alright; I had a word from the Lord. I believe that was a Tuesday morning. By Friday, I was a Pastor, and here I am writing this.

So, I just want to encourage you who are going through difficult times and feel like you really need a word from the Lord, but just hear silence. It's not you. It's Him. I know He will never leave nor forsake you, but I can tell you that you will feel like He did during seasons like this.

Consider Job. He was a blameless man who feared God and shunned evil (Job 1:1). Though Job had done nothing wrong, he lost everything he owned in Chapter 1. A house fell on his children, raiders stole his livestock, and fire burned up his sheep. Then, in Chapter 2, he loses his health and breaks out in huge painful sores from the bottom of his feet to the top of his head. Guess when the Lord speaks to Job? Chapter 38 (Job 38:1).

There were thirty-six chapters of suffering in silence before the Lord appeared to Job in a whirlwind. After the Lord spoke, everything changed, and Job gained back exactly double everything he had lost. His dark night of the soul was over.

I know this is a hard word, but I just want to tell you like it is. Walking with the Lord is not always an easy street. What I have learned, though, is to never give up hope even when you feel lost without direction or that you missed Him somehow. You didn't.

(Proverbs 3:5–6 NKJV) Trust in the LORD with all your heart, And lean not on your own understanding; In all your ways acknowledge Him, And He shall direct your paths.

In my own life, I could add, "Whether you like it or not," to the end of this verse, for there was no missing the Lord. He wanted us out of the computer business and into ministry, and He made that happen.

(Psalm 37:4–5 NASB) Delight yourself in the LORD; And He will give you the desires of your heart. Commit your way to the LORD, Trust also in Him, and He will do it.

(Romans 8:28 NKJV) And we know that all things work together for good to those who love God, to those who are the called according to His purpose.

The ball is in His court. You do not have to be absolutely right about a job, a spouse, buying a car... You have to seek the Kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all of these things will be added to you. It will seem so natural, but it is supernatural. I have had the Lord remove me from great jobs to put me here. I have had to accept that I work for Him, and I try to include Him in everything I do. I don't know what the future holds, but He does.

(Matthew 6:31–34 NKJV) "Therefore do not worry, saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble.

You can pray this with me if you like:

Prayer: Heavenly Father, thank You for another day. Please restore my hope and strengthen me. Help me face the trials in my life and overcome them as Job did. Forgive me for ever doubting You. In the name of Jesus Christ, I pray. Amen!