1 Samuel 14:37

"But he answered him not that day, 1 Samuel 14:37 .

We are to think of silent days in providence. Saul had taken counsel of God, saying, "Shall I go down after the Philistines? Wilt thou deliver them into the hand of Israel?" The question was very simple and direct, and yet it pleased God to regard the inquiry with apparent neglect. This would be thought to be severe on the part of God in relation to Saul, if we ourselves had not passed through the same experience. There are some days when we cannot pray; we are silent; we have no thoughts, no words, no feelings; for the time being we seem to be all but obliterated: at other times we can ask a hundred questions at heaven's door, and yet the door never opens, yea, we can thunder our prayers, for we are in great enthusiasm of heart, and seem as if we could take the kingdom of heaven by violence; and yet heaven regards us with apparent indifference, no gleam attests the attention of God, no opening in the clouds shows how near he is, no sound in the air proclaims his coming towards us. We are to learn from silence as well as from eloquence. There is an answer even in the silence, if we were wise enough to interpret it. When Christ was told of the extremity of the poor sufferers in the house at Bethany he abode two days still in the same place where he was; we thought he would have hastened to shed the light of his blessing upon the circle which he loved, we supposed that nothing would detain him a single hour from the side of Martha and Mary; yet when he heard of their great suffering he paid no heed to it for the space of two days. In the case before us, the Lord did not give Saul any answer on that particular day. He is not moved by our impetuosity; he is not exposed to all the little tempests which come and go over the surface of our souls. He teaches us by the education of patience, by a drill and discipline which affect the soul in its hours of intensest impetuosity. We are not to suppose that God has abandoned the universe because he is taking a day of silence; we are not to infer that prayer is useless because no answer comes to it instantaneously. Wait thou upon God: they that wait upon the Lord shall renew their strength. We have not yet realised all the meaning of the word "wait"; it is culture of patience, it is discipline of passion, it is control over all the affairs which agitate and distract the soul. We may confidently say that if God comes not today he will come to-morrow, or the third day, and when he does come great will be the surprise with which he will gladden the soul by reason of the largeness of the blessing which he has been apparently withholding.