Have you ever prayed, sought God sincerely, and heard… nothing?

Many followers of Jesus assume silence means something is wrong, that God is distant, disappointed, or unwilling to answer. But what if His silence isn't absence? What if it's an invitation?

Big Idea

God's silence doesn't always mean God isn't speaking. Sometimes His silence invites us to lean in, trust Him more deeply, and discover what He's doing beneath the surface.

Key Takeaways

• God's silence doesn't mean God's absence.
• Silence often invites us deeper into relationship.
• God sets the agenda in prayer.
• Don't confuse conviction with condemnation.
• More may be happening than you can see.
• Persistence matters.
• Trust God's answers, even when they're not what you hoped for.
• Keep your eyes on Jesus, not someone else's story.

A Few Thoughts from the Conversation

Prayer Is Relationship, Not a Transaction

We often approach prayer expecting immediate answers. But God is not a vending machine or a Magic 8-Ball. He's a Father.

Sometimes His silence causes us to lean in, pay attention, and discover that He wants to talk about something different than what we brought to the conversation.

Shame Is a Terrible Interpreter

When prayers go unanswered, many people immediately assume:

"God must be disappointed in me."

While conviction is real, condemnation is not.

If you belong to Jesus, your standing with God is secure. Don't let guilt, shame, or the accusations of the enemy define how you interpret God's silence.

There May Be More Happening Than You Can See

In Daniel 10, Daniel prayed for twenty-one days before receiving an answer.

When the angel finally arrived, he explained that Daniel's prayer had been heard from day one, but a spiritual battle had delayed the response.

We often have no idea what God is doing behind the scenes while we wait.

Keep Showing Up

Sometimes breakthrough comes quickly.

Sometimes it comes after months, or years, of persistent prayer.

Don't let delay convince you that God isn't working.

Keep praying. Keep trusting. Keep showing up.

Trust the Shepherd

Some prayers receive a "yes."

Others receive a "wait."

And some receive a "no."

Trusting God means believing He is good even when His answer isn't what we wanted.

The goal of prayer is not simply getting answers. The goal is walking with Jesus.

Final Encouragement

God hears every prayer.

Even when heaven seems silent.

Even when the answer is delayed.

Even when the answer is different than what you hoped.

Stay close to Jesus.

Keep praying.

Trust His heart.

The end of the story is good.

Song Recommendation

"Somebody Prayed" — Crowder
https://youtu.be/GVITQPGlI30?si=2hKxnkhnmam62Y51

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Resources & Contact Info

Email Raz & Jamie:
razwithhim@gmail.com

Their Church: Mariemont Church (Cincinnati, OH)
https://www.mariemontchurch.org

Jamie’s Website & Writing:
https://www.jamiemoore.org

Jamie’s Book, Friendship with God
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736292609

What do you do when Jesus changes the plan?

In this episode, Jamie and Raz talk about the moments in leadership and life where you stop and realize: “I didn’t see that coming.”

Throughout Scripture, people who walked with God were constantly surprised by where He led them. Abram didn’t see coming the call to leave home, the birth of Isaac at 100 years old, or the command to place the child of promise on Mount Moriah. Moses didn’t see coming a burning bush encounter with Yahweh. The disciples regularly failed to understand what Jesus was doing right in front of them.

And Paul didn’t see coming that the Holy Spirit would forbid him from going into Asia Minor. Instead, through a dream of a Macedonian man calling for help, Jesus redirected him into Macedonia — leading to ministry in Philippi, Thessalonica, Athens, and Corinth.

Jamie and Raz also share a recent story from Mariemont Church and the new Kingdom Lab summer internship.

As they planned a group project for the interns, they assumed the focus would be youth ministry, young adults, or assimilation. But during the interview process, they realized that three of the four interns shared a deep passion for serving individuals and families impacted by special needs.

It wasn’t on their radar at all.

But instead of forcing their original plan, they sensed Jesus inviting them into something unexpected: exploring what it would look like for Mariemont Church to become more Christlike and more welcoming to special needs individuals and their families.

In this episode, Jamie and Raz discuss:
• Why following Jesus often disrupts our plans
• The danger of closed-handed leadership
• How discernment sometimes looks like paying attention
• Why some of the best ministry moments are the ones you never planned
• What it means to live and lead open-handed with Jesus

The episode ends with a challenge for leaders:

Can you identify moments over the last six months where you found yourself saying, “I didn’t see that coming”?

Because throughout Scripture, people who truly followed Jesus were surprised by where He led them. Maybe part of following Jesus is staying open when He changes the plan?

Subscribe to the "With Him" Podcast email list
Get new episodes, bonus content, and more:
https://mailchi.mp/mariemontchurch/sub-to-with-him-podcast

Explore past episodes and resources
https://www.mariemontchurch.org/with-him-podcast

Resources & Contact Info

Email Raz & Jamie:
razwithhim@gmail.com

Their church: Mariemont Church (Cincinnati, OH)
https://www.mariemontchurch.org

Jamie’s website & writing:
https://www.jamiemoore.org

Jamie’s book, Friendship with God
https://www.amazon.com/dp/1736292609

In this episode, Raz and Jamie share the heart behind The Kingdom Lab — a 12-week summer internship designed to help young adults become deeply rooted in the Father’s love, formed by the voice and ways of Jesus, empowered by the Holy Spirit, and equipped to lead well in every area of life.

We talked about why this internship is so much more than leadership training or ministry experience. Our heart is to create an environment where young adults can truly learn to live with God — secure in their identity, growing in intimacy with Jesus, learning to hear and obey His voice, walking in the power of the Spirit, and developing the emotional and spiritual maturity needed for a lifetime of healthy Kingdom leadership.

The Kingdom Lab is built around four core values:

ROOTED — Grounded in the Father’s love and secure in identity.
FORMED — Shaped by the voice and ways of Jesus through intentional spiritual formation.
SENT — Empowered by the Spirit to bring the Kingdom wherever they go.
EQUIPPED — Developing real-world Kingdom leadership skills through hands-on experience in a healthy local church.

Interns will experience intentional discipleship, spiritual formation, mentoring from seasoned leaders, hands-on ministry experience, leadership development, and practical life skills that will serve them for years to come — whether in ministry, business, education, the arts, or everyday life with Jesus.

If you’re passionate about seeing the next generation become healthy, Spirit-filled Kingdom leaders, this conversation is for you.

Subscribe to the "With Him" Podcast email list

Get new episodes, bonus content, and more:
Subscribe to With Him Podcast

Explore past episodes and resources

With Him Podcast Archive

Resources & Contact Info

Email Raz & Jamie:
razwithhim@gmail.com

Their church: Mariemont Church (Cincinnati, OH)
Mariemont Church

Jamie’s website & writing:
Jamie Moore Website

Jamie’s book, Friendship with God
Friendship with God on Amazon