What to do When you Feel Ignored by God

Life is getting more difficult. The more you pray, the more complicated things become. You’re beginning to feel ignored by God.

David felt that. He said, “How long, Lord? Will you forget me forever? How long will you hide your face from me? How long must I wrestle with my thoughts and day after day have sorrow in my heart? How long will my enemy triumph over me?” Psalms 13:1-2 (NIV)

Well, if this describes you, know that you’re not the only one that feels that way.

We all go through seasons where we feel like God is ignoring us. We pray, fast, read the word, but nothing changes in the physical. Instead, the storms of life keep raging forcefully against us, and this leaves us feeling discouraged.

What makes this season even harder is when we see others prospering. Everything they do seems to thrive while we continue to suffer. Some even make fun of us and tell us to give up on our faith because there is no outward gain in it.

All these leaves us wondering:

Why does God Ignore me and Protect Others? – You Ask yourself

Each path has its Own Struggle and Solutions - Haly Ministries Quote

Your friends may be sharing testimony after testimony about the goodness of God while you are struggling so much.

In Psalm 73:1-28 Asaph wrote about how he had almost slipped by envying the arrogant and focusing on the prosperity of the wicked. While he struggled and suffered, they prospered. They had healthy bodies, were not plagued by common illnesses, and were free from common burdens.

At that point, it seemed like he had kept his heart pure in vain. His days were full of afflictions and every new day came with its own sets of afflictions.

Well, it may look like God is protecting others and ignoring you but:

‣ Others have Chosen the Easy Way out

In Psalm 73:17-20, when Asaph entered the sanctuary of God, he understood the destiny of the wicked.

It may seem to you that God is protecting others but you. However, not everyone, even those that call themselves Christians, is walking in the ways of the Lord. They may have chosen the easy road and hence are not struggling like you. But God has placed them in slippery places. They will be suddenly destroyed and wholly swept away.

‣ It is not YOUR Season

It may seem like God is protecting others and not you is we are in different seasons of our lives.

You cannot compare your step 2 to someone’s step 20. They have also gone through challenges, and even right now, they have their own set of struggles that they are facing. So we cannot compare our challenges with others. All of us have a path that God has laid out for us.

Each path has its own struggle and solutions. We only need to look at God and not at what others are going through or how they’re living their lives. Asaph acknowledges that he had strayed by focusing on all that is happening around him. Instead of focusing on what is happening in so and so’s life, focus on what God is doing in your life.

But you may still ask:

Why does God Ignore my Pain?

When bad things were happening to Job, it seemed like God was ignoring his pain. Even his wife told him to curse God and die. Meaning his situation was bad, and it seemed like the God he served was either ignoring him or not able to help him.

Understand that as we read the story of Job (Job 1), we see how all this started and what was happening physically and spiritually. But that was not the same case with Job. He was only aware of what was happening to Him physically. At that given time, he didn’t know about the conversation God had with satan.

From Job’s story, we learn that:

• God doesn’t ignore our pain

He is fully aware of what we are going through. God also knows how much pain you can handle. He will not allow you to go through more than you can handle.

• God’s Timing is Different from Ours

Revive Me Daily Prophetic Word - The Right Time is NOW

It seemed like God’s perfect time to rescue Job when he refused to follow his wife’s advice. He had lost everything, and now the only person that should have stood by him was encouraging him to curse God (Job 2:9).

But Job did not cave, and it seemed only right for God to tell satan, “Enough! Leave my servant alone, you were wrong. He is faithful”. But that didn’t happen; instead, God waited a little longer. He knew the best time to restore Job, and when the time was right, He did just that.

God knows the best time to rescue you. He will not delay when that time comes.

• God Used what the enemy Intended for Bad to Deal with Job’s Heart

By the time Job was restored, he knew who he served. Job did not worship God based on what he had heard from others as before. Instead of the enemy causing Job to lose faith in God, Job strengthened his faith in God.

Instead of focusing on the deceitful thoughts that God is ignoring you, find out what God is trying to teach or show you. It could be that God is allowing all things to happen so that He can draw you near to Him and deal with your heart.

What to do when you Feel Ignored?

1. Pray

Yes, I know that is the last thing that you want to do right now. You have been praying for weeks, months, or years over the same thing. But prayer is the best thing to do right now.

Ask God to Deal with your Heart

Even if you don’t feel like praying about that same thing, you can focus on other things. For example, you can ask God to deal with your heart and remove things that may act as stumbling blocks in your walk with Him. You can also ask Him to reveal Himself to you in ways that He has never done so that you can be strengthened in this season that you’re in.

Pray for Others

To get your attention away from your problems, focus on how you can help others. Prayer would be the best offer. Pray for people who are facing the same challenges you’re going through right now.

Do not wait for things to get better before you pray for others. Job prayed for His friends before God restored him. Abraham prayed to God, and Abimelech’s wife and concubines were able to bear children. This was way before Abraham had Isaac. (Genesis 20:17)

Let God use you in this season to bless others, and He will double His blessings for every trouble.

Pour Out your Heart to God

Tell God how you feel – that you feel ignored by Him in this season. If you are disappointed and angry at Him, tell Him. Remember, God sees what is in our hearts. You cannot hide anything from Him.

You don’t have to sound perfect when praying to Him. Be vulnerable and tell Him your thoughts, fears, doubts, and disappointments. This will not be for God’s good, but for your own. You will be freed from all the lies that the enemy is feeding you with.

I thank God we have Healing Retreats where people can come, pour their hearts out, and meditate on God’s promises. A peaceful environment helps them to change their focus from themselves and their circumstances.

2. Talk to Spiritual People

The truth is we can not be successful Christians without fellowshipping with others. This may be hard if you have gone through church hurt, or it is what you are going through right now. But even then, we need to be surrounded by fellow believers in this season.

It is by doing this that we get to be strengthened by them. When we hear other people’s testimonies, their challenges, and how they are dealing with them, we get to know that we are not alone.

See, the enemy would want you to believe that you are the only one that is suffering. Do not fall for those lies. Instead, find a community of faith-filled people that will hold your hand and encourage you through this season.

There are so many great communities you can find online if you don’t have a church. Look for one that has people who are accommodative, genuine in their faith, and are ready to help.

3. Study the Word

It is good to read books, but it is better to study the word of God. In it, you will find words of encouragement from God. He will also reveal to you so many great things about Himself and yourself and even show you how to fight the battle you’re in and win.

The word of God is spirit and truth. By reading it, you get to have a more profound revelation of the challenges you’re facing. You’ll also read other people’s stories and how they handled all the bad things they went through. The word of God will also open your eyes and ears so that you can hear what God is telling you in the spirit.

See, at times, we think God is not hearing us when in reality He is talking. Why do we think that we are not heard? Because we are so caught up with the busyness of life.

Studying the word of God opens our hearts and ears so that we can be alert in the spirit. Jesus said in John 10:27-28, His sheep hear His voice, and they follow Him. It means that God is always speaking to us in one way or another.

4. Keep Walking by Faith

Trust your Heavenly Father - Haly Ministries Quote

The word of God tells us that the righteous live by faith. To manage this life and the challenges you are going through, we need to continue walking by faith and not by sight. When we start looking around and seeing how other people are blessed, we are beginning to walk by sight and not faith.

See, just because someone seems very happy does not mean that their life is perfect. It could be that they’re only standing firm in the promises of God and are not allowing the challenges they are facing to come in between them and God.

Trust your Heavenly Father even when all that is happening seems more real than His word. Know that He will come through for you no matter what comes your way.

Choose to trust the process and continue believing that God hears the cries of your heart. Do not allow the enemy to inflate your mind and heart with lies that God is ignoring you because He is not.

Even though He may seem quiet, God still talks to us through people and most especially through the Bible.

5. Hold onto the Promises God has Given you

Often God gives us promises right before we go into a season of challenges. He always gives us a particular verse or chapter in the Bible that we can stand on during our wilderness season.

If there is a chapter or verse that you keep going back to in this season, then chances are it is the promise God has given you. Hold on to it, knowing that whatever God has promised it will pass.

My verse for this season is from Philippians 4:13, “For I can do everything through Christ, who gives me strength.” What is yours?

Yes, it may delay for months or years, but He who promised is faithful. God does not change His mind, neither does He slumber.

In Romans 4:3-5, we are told that Abraham believed God, which was accounted to him as righteousness. He believed what God told him and knew that Yahweh would fulfill His promise to him at the right time.

Like our father of faith, we need to hold onto the promises that God has given us until we see that which we have been promised manifest in the physical realm.

There will be times when the enemy will cause you to doubt, but you need to continue standing firm to the end.

What to do When you Feel Ignored by God | by Haly Ministries

Final Thoughts

We all go through seasons where we feel ignored by God.

We pray, fast, and read the word, but nothing seems to happen in the physical realm. This can be very discouraging, but we need to remember that we walk by faith and not by sight.

God talks to us in different ways!

Just because you are not hearing His still small voice does not mean that He is not talking to you. Spend time in prayer, read the word of God, go a to quiet place and listen, speak to spiritual people, keep walking in faith and hold on to the promise you have been given.

Doing so will encourage you to keep on fighting however long it might take for the promises of God to be fulfilled in your life.

May you be filled with God’s joy today!