When silence isn’t golden …

I know some parents who used to play a specific game when they were on long road trips in the car with their children. The rules of the game went something like this, “The first one to talk loses.” These parents called it the “silence game.”

Have you ever played the game?

I would bet that many parents have made up a game similar to this. When traveling in a vehicle and arguing continues, or complaining erupts, or the eternal question, “How much further?” is asked for the 100th time, parents want silence. So they play the silence game.

Sometimes, silence is golden.

Sometimes, though, silence is not golden.

If you have ever felt the awkward pause in a conversation, or if you have ever had an angry spouse or parent give you the “silent treatment,” then you know what I’m talking about.

Sometimes silence can be deafening … especially when we’re silent with God.
 
“But God already knows what I need!” some argue, “So why do I have to waste His time, and mine, telling Him what He already knows?”

It is true that God does know exactly what you need.

“Don’t be like them, for your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!” Matthew 6:8.

But ask Him anyway!

“If God knows what I need, then why doesn’t He just get busy providing it?” some question.

Because God is not just some cosmic “supplier,” He is our Father, and He wants to interact with us as Father and children. Just as a good parent knows what their children need, they still long to talk with their children about their needs and share in them.

God doesn’t want our silence, He welcomes our conversation.

Do you converse with God about your life? Or do you just expect Him to provide for you without the need for relationship?

Scotty