Is God Silent, or Are We Not Paying Attention?

During Lent, I started a new routine: reading a Bible passage at bedtime with each of my girls. Okay, separately—because they go to bed at different times and, well, they compete for attention. So separately it is. But despite the juggling, this habit has stuck around.

The other night, my 14-year-old and I were reading in Acts about Peter and Cornelius (Acts 10) and how clearly God spoke to both of them. After we finished, she looked at me and said, “I don’t really see God speaking like that today.”

I had to take a moment. I didn’t want to brush off her observation or give a quick response. Then a thought came to me: Is God silent, or are we just not paying attention?

Mark 4:12 “They see what I do, but they don’t really perceive it. They hear what I say, but they don’t understand…”

A few weeks ago, my daughter was in the middle of her spring volleyball season. She’d been playing multiple positions with a constantly changing rotation. Like her mom, she thrives on structure and routine, so we prayed that for the upcoming tournament, she’d get to play just one position and feel confident in the rotation.

Guess what? For the first time all season, she played one position. She knew the rotation. It felt like a small miracle. A whispered answer.

That moment had me thinking—not just about if I’m praying, but how. Am I praying specifically? Not to control God, but because when I talk with a close friend, I share details. Prayer is relationship. And when God responds, it’s even more amazing when you notice the exactness of the answer.

And then—am I acknowledging it? Or just moving on?

Psalm 9:1 “I will give thanks to you, Lord, with all my heart; I will tell of all your wonderful deeds.”

The challenge this week: To be people who pray specifically, notice the answers, and respond with gratitude.