When God Seems Silent
1 Samuel 1:1–20
Introduction
Let me begin with a question that may reach a little deeper than most Sunday greetings usually do. Have you ever walked through a season when you prayed with all your heart and nothing seemed to happen? A season when you believed God, yet nothing moved? When you stayed faithful, but heaven seemed silent?
Silence is a difficult companion. Waiting can feel heavy. And unanswered prayer has a way of testing our faith in ways few things can. In those long, quiet stretches of life, it is easy to start asking honest questions. Does God hear me? Has God forgotten me? Is something wrong with my faith? Did I miss His will? Why is nothing changing?
If you’ve ever wrestled with those thoughts, you’re in good company.
Because, that’s the story of a woman named Hannah in 1 Samuel chapter 1. Her story speaks to everyone who has ever waited, wrestled, or wondered what God was doing in the silence.
Her story is one of a faithful believer wrestling with a delayed answer and what seemed like a silent God. Even still, she refused to give up hope.
If you have your Bible, I invite you to open with me to the Old Testament book of 1 Samuel, chapter 1.
As you find your place, I want to lay a foundation for where we are going this morning. It is a truth woven throughout Hannah’s story and it is one we must hold onto in our own lives. And it’s this:
God’s silence is not His absence, and His delay is not His denial.
Let me say that again so it settles deep in your heart. When God seems silent, He is still present. When God delays, He is still working. His timing is perfect, His wisdom unsearchable, and His faithfulness unchanging. Hannah’s life will show us exactly that.
So let us begin, in verse 1 we read:
“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly. And she made a vow, saying, ‘Lord Almighty, if You will only look on Your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget Your servant but give her a son, then I will give him to the Lord for all the days of his life…’” — 1 Samuel 1:10–11 (NIV)
The book of 1 Samuel doesn’topen with a king, or a prophet, or even a mighty warrior. It opens with a broken-hearted woman calling out to God at an altar.
It’s important to know that this story (and this book), comes during a time when the nation of Israel was spiritually suffering. The nation had lived an undisciplined and spiritually dry life. During this time, there was no clear word from the Lord. Leadership was corrupt. Morality had decayed. And the people had neglected their faith.
Yet in God’s economy, revival doesn’t start in palaces. It begins in prayer. It begins with people hungry for God in the hidden places.
God uses quiet, faithful people, often in painful seasons, to initiate His greatest work. And in this story, that person is Hannah. A simple but faithful woman.
The Tension in This Text
When I study Scripture, I always look for the tension inside the text. There is often a moment in the story where we see a struggle between what is and what ought to be. The Bible never hides the honest friction between faith and reality, between promise and pain, between what we believe about God and what we experience in life.
That tension is unmistakable in Hannah’s story.
As this story tells us — she longed for a child but could not conceive. In that ancient culture, barrenness was viewed as a mark of failure, and even God’s judgment or rejection. To make matters worse, she was lived in a home and a culture that practiced polygamy. She she lived in a home with where her husband had another wife. And the other wife had several children — but openly taunted and provoked Hannah for her lack.
And so, year after year Hannah carried her sorrow with shame.
She believed in God. She worshiped him faithfully. She prayed earnestly. Yet Scripture repeats the same painful phrase, “year after year…,” nothing changed.
No answer. No movement. No visible sign that God is working.
This passage raises a hard and honest question:
How do you keep trusting God when your reality seems to contradict your theology?
How do you hold on to faith when heaven seems silent?
Hannah shows us how. Her life teaches us what to do when God seems quiet and the waiting grows heavy. Let us walk through what she reveals.
1. Refuse to Suffer in Silence.
Refuse to suffer in silence. Instead, determine now that you’ll share your concerns with the Lord.
This was the posture of Hannah. She refused to suffer in silence. For her, the struggle was personal and painful.
Verse 10 says,“In her deep anguish Hannah prayed to the Lord, weeping bitterly.” — — 1 Samuel 1:10 (NIV)
She did what many people struggle to do — she brought her pain honestly before God. Her prayer was not polished. It was not formal. It was not quiet or controlled. It was real prayer, born out of real desperation.
She did not suppress it.
She did not fake being strong.
She did not hide behind religious language.
Scripture says she “poured out her soul” before the Lord (1 Samuel 1:15, NIV).
Yet many believers suffer in silence. They smile in public while breaking in private. They carry unspoken disappointment, quiet fear, unresolved grief, and unasked questions. Some stay silent because they are afraid of appearing weak. Others stay silent because they think God is tired of hearing from them. And some remain silent because they believe strong Christians should not feel deeply.
But silence does not heal the soul. Concealed pain becomes heavy pain, and suppressed pain eventually becomes spiritual exhaustion. God never asked us to hide our hurt. He invites us to bring it to Him.
David did. He said, “I pour out before Him my complaint; before Him I tell my trouble” (Psalm 142:2).
Job did. He cried out in anguish and did not hold back.
Even Jesus did. In the Garden of Gethsemane, He fell to the ground and prayed through agony. If Jesus Himself poured out His soul to the Father, then so should we.
There is a simple story of a father who found his young daughter in the yard trying to move a large stone. She pushed and strained, but it would not budge. After watching her struggle, the father asked, “Are you using all of your strength?” Frustrated, she answered, “Yes, I am!” He knelt beside her and gently replied, “You are using all of your strength, but you have not asked me to use mine.”
That is where many people live spiritually. They are using all of their strength, carrying silent battles and heavy emotions alone, but they have not asked God to use His strength. Prayer is not about perfect words. It is about honest surrender.
God does not heal what we choose to hide. Prayer is not powerful because we arrange the perfect words. Prayer becomes powerful when we come before God with honesty. A real God meets us in real pain when we bring Him our real heart.
Application: So, refuse to suffer in silence. If it matters to you, you can be certain that it matters to God.
So, tell Him the truth. Express your heart. Tell Him where it hurts. Tell Him what you fear. Tell Him what you do not understand. Because, a weak prayer is better than no prayer. And your tears are welcome in the presence of God.
The powerful help and did not start for Hannah when she conceived Samuel. It started when she stopped bottling her pain and brought it to God.
2. Trust God During the Delays of Answered Prayers.
Verse 7 contains a quiet but painful line that reveals the heart of Hannah’s struggle. It says,
“This went on year after year…” — 1 Samuel 1:7 (NIV)
Those words sting a little, don’t they?
Year after year…She prayed. She waited. She believed. And still…nothing changed. Have you ever been there?
Some of us know exactly what that “year after year…” feels like.
Year after year praying for a prodigal child.
Year after year asking for healing.
Year after year for financial breakthrough,
Or a restored marriage,
Or maybe for opportunity or a ministry door to open.
God’s silence is not evidence of His absence,
it’s often preparation for something greater.
Pastor and author, Warren Wiersbe once said, “God’s delays are not God’s denials. They are simply His way of preparing us for something better.”
And scripture seems to affirm this truth — as it reveals this pattern again and again. Consider this:
• Abraham waited 25 years for Isaac.
• Joseph spent 13 years in delay before purpose unfolded.
• Moses waited 40 years on the backside of a desert.
• Even Jesus waited 30 years for a 3-year ministry.
God uses waiting seasons to shape hearts before He releases answers. He uses waiting seasons to prepare us before He promotes us. He develops character before He releases calling. He strengthens faith before He responds to us.
While I rarely like it, I understand the waiting seasons of life.
I remember a season Lori and I walked through—I know what it feels like to wait. We were serving as associate pastors in Detroit. It was a great church, and we were grateful to serve, but after five years, I felt a stirring in my spirit—it was time to pastor our own congregation. Lori and I talked about it. Prayed about it. It felt right. It felt like God.
With my pastor’s blessing, we sent resumes, called networks, traveled, interviewed, preached…but door after door stayed closed. Weeks turned to months. Months turned to a year. I questioned myself. I questioned my calling. I questioned if God still had a plan. Finally, we got a call from South Carolina, we interviewed, it seemed right, and I booked a flight. The night before my trip, Lori went into early labor with Preston. Interview canceled. The door closed. Again.
It didn’t make sense—but God wasn’t late. He was preparing timing. Months later, we interviewed again, and it eventually led to our move and a pastorate that shaped our lives. The waiting was long. The silence was heavy. But God was faithful — and the delay was not a denial.
Waiting seasons are not empty—they are forming seasons. And they lead somewhere when God is in them.
3. Breakthrough Begin with Surrender to God.
In verse 11, Hannah makes a vow and says: “Lord, if You will give me a son, I will give him to You all the days of his life.” — 1 Samuel 1:11 (NIV)
This is more than a request. This is surrender. Her prayer moves from “God, do this for me” to “God, use this for Your glory.” There is a world of difference between those two. Many people pray for God to bless them. Few go further and offer that blessing back to Him before they ever receive it. But that is exactly what Hannah did.
Her surrender changed everything. Notice this carefully: breakthrough did not begin when Hannah received a son. Breakthrough began when she released her will. She did not manipulate God. She did not bargain for control. She simply came into agreement with the purpose of God.
Surrender is not giving up. Surrender is giving over.
It is saying, “God, I trust Your plan more than my preference.”
It is releasing control and embracing obedience.
It is placing the outcome in God’s hands.
Oswald Chambers once wrote, “The greatest competitor of devotion to Jesus is service for Him.”
In other words, even spiritual desire can become self-centered if it is not surrendered. Hannah did not just want a child for herself. She wanted a child who belonged to God.
Samuel was not just an answered prayer. He was a divine assignment. He would anoint Saul. He would anoint David. He would shape a nation. Hannah was praying for a son, but God was planning a prophet. When she surrendered, her request aligned with His purpose, and heaven responded.
Let me give you a simple picture. Imagine holding a seed tightly in your fist. You can protect it, guard it, and cling to it. But if you never release it, it will never grow. Surrender is the moment you open your hand. It feels like loss, but it is the only way to multiplication.
Application: So I ask you today, what are you still holding on to? Your dream? Your future? Your timing? Your fear? Your plan? Breakthrough begins the moment you place it into God’s hands.
And then we read one of the most hope-filled lines in this chapter. In verse 19 it says,
“And the Lord remembered her.” — 1 Samuel 1:19 (NIV)
God hadn’t forgotten. He was preparing. Aligning. Timing. Positioning.
Hannah held her son and named him Samuel, saying: “Because I asked the Lord for him.”
Her tears had purpose. Her waiting had meaning. Her faith had reward.
Conclusion – When God Seems Silent
Maybe today you feel like Hannah.
Maybe you’re praying for something that hasn’t budged.
Maybe you’re wrestling with silence…delay…confusion…disappointment.
Let Hannah’s life remind you:
• Delayed answers are not denied answers.
• God hears the hidden prayers of faithful hearts.
• What you sow in tears—you will reap in joy. (Psalm 126:5)
So, keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep surrendering. God’s silence is not the end of your story.
Closing Prayer
Heavenly Father, today we draw strength from the life of Hannah. Thank You for this reminder that waiting seasons are not wasted seasons. For those who are weary from unanswered prayers—breathe fresh hope into them. For those who feel forgotten—remind them You see and remember. For those who are wrestling—give them faith to keep trusting, keep praying, and keep surrendering. Lord, may Your timing prevail. May Your will be done. And may every breakthrough become a testimony of Your faithfulness. In Jesus’ name—Amen.