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Bible passages: Psalm 28 and Revelation 8:1-6
Intro: How do you feel when someone ‘turns a deaf ear’ to you?
What’s your reaction when someone gives you the ‘silent treatment’?
How do you feel when you think that God has been silent in response to your prayers/situation? What do you think God is
doing at those times? How can we cope with them better?
(Read Psalm 28) What do you think the predicament was that David was facing?
(v3-5) His feelings for ‘revenge’ are surely not right - are they? But can you identify with his
frustration and desperation for God to act in a situation?
God did not remain silent to his plea. We don’t know the details of how God intervened, but what are some of the
changes in David you notice in v6-9?
How do you think the time of ‘silence’ from God helped develop these qualities in David?
Consider the following times of ‘silence’ from God. What was the Lord doing in each situation?
Matthew 27:12-14, Mark 15:3-5, John 19:8-10
Matthew 27:46 (cf Ps22:1-2)
(Read Revelation 8:1-6) The final seal on the scroll containing the message of judgment against
evil and wickedness is opened. The wrath of God is about to be released, the trumpets heralding the judgement are
about to be blown, but before they are, we read ‘there was silence in heaven for about half an hour’.
Why?
Think of the silence we shared on Remembrance Sunday - what was that for?
Think of the silences that are often part of a solemn event (e.g. a wedding) - what are such silences for?
The silence we read of here, is partly to do with the awesome judgement that is about to be meted out upon the world.
God does not do this casually, He loves the world and humankind, one can sense the turmoil in the heart of God - there is
sadness in him (Luke 19:41), but He is a God of Holiness and Justice and the day of reckoning
will one day come when all sin must be dealt with before the Lord, when wrath is poured out against evil.
How terrible it will be for those who have not cast their sin upon the Lamb of God who was sent to take away the sins of
the world, by bearing the punishment on himself. Remember, He is ‘not wanting anyone to perish, but everyone to come to
repentance’(2 Peter 3:9), but this day must come. We must all take our sin to Jesus now.
The silence is also to do with letting prayer be heard in heaven before these terrible judgements are unleashed.:
Look at v3. Whose prayers are offered up before the throne?
Amazingly we are told that ‘the prayers of all the saints’ are offered up.
What do you think of this? Do you think our prayers can be that significant to influence Heaven itself?
The poet, George Herbert, referred to prayers as ‘reversed thunder’, that is they have the potential power to rise up from
earth and shake the very courts of heaven and shape God’s Sovereign actions, and so influence what God will do. If we
really believed this, would we not all prioritize prayer a lot more than we do? How can we get that conviction about the
power of prayer?
But notice, we are also told that the angel, along with the prayers of the saints, ’was given much
incense to offer’.
Some bible commentators suggest this is a symbol representing our Saviour’s intercession in heaven for his church on earth
(Romans 8:34)
This is a beautiful truth, that our prayers, which may often be lacking and impure, are mingled with the prayers of the Lord
for the church, and so are sanctified and purified. (Romans 8:27)
How does knowing that the Lord prays for us and purifies our prayers encourage you to pray - even when there seems to
be that silence in heaven in response to our prayers?
‘Prayer as it comes from the saint is weak and languid; but when the arrow of a saint’s prayer is put
into the bow of Christ’s intercession it pierces the throne of grace.’(Thomas Watson)
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