Why Is God Ignoring Me?: What to Do When It Feels Like He's Giving You the Silent Treatment

Gary Habermas has long been known for his role in Christian apologetics, in particular his contribution to the argument for the resurrection of Jesus. Yet Habermas proves himself to be much more than a one trick pony by tackling the daunting challenge of the supposed silence of God in Why Is God Ignoring Me? Others have addressed this question--most notably in my mind Philip Yancey in his book Disappointment With God--but Habermas covers new ground and gives answers both emotionally and intellectually satisfying. Indeed, his intellectual approach is clear from the onset as he deals with the issue of "Supernatural Activities In Our World" in the first chapter. In the following chapters he then addresses the biblical tension felt between the nearness of God and the promise that we will face hardship--the same tension that many of the biblical characters themselves had to face. Yet one of the most simple--and profound--answers to the problem of the supposed silence of God is that the problem may not lie on God's side. Thus he points us towards some of the classical spiritual disciplines as a sort of spiritual troubleshooting. While it's a short book (139 pages), Why Is God Ignoring Me? packs a significant punch for those in doubt and a needed lift for those in pain. Christians should certainly be glad that we have one as Gary Habermas investigating the resurrection of Christ. Now we can be equally glad he is investing some time and effort toward other pressing issues for the Christian's confidence. This book was a free review copy provided by Tyndale House Publishers.

The book Why is God Ignoring Me? by Gary R. Habermas was not what I expected, but in a good way. I don't know what I was expecting. I think what I was expecting was a book full of all those times in our lives when we feel that God is ignoring us and a chapter of "but wait...here's God." What I got was an entire book of "here's God!" From the first chapter, Habermas is showing where God is active in our lives, that God is not ignoring us. Sometimes, according to Habermas, God's presence is supernatural (Chapter 1). Sometimes, God's presence is a "love letter" (Chapter 2). Parts of the book made me think. Chapter 5, for example, gave conditions for God answering prayer. At first I thought, "Wait a minute, that doesn't sound right." I got hung up on the word "conditions." But by the end of the chapter, I was in agreement with Habermas as there are conditions to the answer of prayer. Chapter 6 was the one I found most interesting. This chapter is about spiritual disciplines and how they draw us closer to God. I think the reason I was drawn to this chapter was I have never been very good at the spiritual disciplines. But it made me think outside the box that is my preconceived notions; that maybe my spiritual disciplines fall under what Habermas labels as "Other Disciplines." I did take issues with one statement from Habermas. This statement comes from the chapter three during a discussion of God's answering of prayers. It might seem like a small thing, it might seem that I'm being nit-picky, but for some reason it just bothered me. Habermas states, "Second, the prayers in the Bible, even those of the greatest saints, were not always answered." (43) The issue I have with this statement is, I believe that God always answers prayers...the answer just might be no and sometimes that is the best way to interpret God's silence; not that God is ignoring me, but the answer is no. I don't know what led me to pick this book from Tyndale, but I'm glad I did. I think it has a lot to do with my life situation at this very moment. Overall, I give this book 4 out of 5 stars. Disclaimer: I received this book free from Tyndale House Publishers as part of their blog network book review program. Providing me a free copy in no way guarantees a favorable review. The opinions expresses in this review are my own. I am disclosing this in accordance with the Federal Trade Commission's 16 CFR, Part 255: "Guides Concerning the Use of Endorsements and Testimonials in Advertising."

We tend to focus on the negative things in our lives and forget to be grateful for the positive things. At times this is hard to overcome, given everyday life throws things at us daily. We need to have Faith and Trust in God. We are not to take biblical promises as clear-cut statements that God will always remove us from life's worst moments. Though God answers our prayers, although, maybe not in the manner we expect him to. We all will face adversities here on earth, and God does promise to be present with us through each situation. Are you guilty of constructing your own false view of God and then getting angry at what you invented? My thoughts are that we all do this to some extent, at some point in our lives. We need to ask for his guidance during these times. Difficulties help us to grow spiritually and take us to new levels in our walk with God as nothing else does. When we realize that we should not expect to receive better treatment than the Son of God, our views of suffering and God's silence become more realistic. There are also helpful discussion questions included in the back of the book, and reference notes for each chapter.

We all go through difficult times. Sometimes, though we cry out to God, it seems as though He isn't answering. In this book, author Gary R. Habermas tells what the Bible has to say about suffering, then offers a practical plan for those in this situation. In the first half of the book, Dr. Habermas points out the many ways in which God is active in our lives: through answered prayers, healing, personal conviction of sin, spiritual gifts, and so on. He lays out both the promises and the examples of suffering that we find in the Bible. While some believers were saved from deadly circumstances--Daniel, Elijah, Noah and his family--many other godly saints were not delivered from their troubles. Joseph, David, John the Baptist, the apostle Paul, and even Jesus all suffered greatly. As Dr. Habermas writes, "If anyone deserved to be freed from suffering, it would be the Son of God Himself." God does not promise that our lives will be trouble-free, but that He will be with us through our troubles. In the second half of the book, Dr. Habermas covers conditional promises, spiritual disciplines, self-defeating behaviors, and, finally, trusting God even when it seems that our prayers are not being answered. I found this book to be a quick read, yet it was comforting, encouraging, and--at times--challenging. I would recommend it with one caveat: In general, I agree with Dr. Habermas that "Regardless of outward circumstances, [*by the way we respond to those circumstances,] we are in control of the painful emotions that we experience." However, for someone suffering through a chemical imbalance such as clinical depression, that charge may worsen those painful emotions. For that reason, I would hesitate to recommend it to anyone in that circumstance. * Words in brackets are mine, added to provide a sense of the context of this statement. Tyndale House Publishers provided a complimentary copy of this book for review purposes.

Gary R. Habermas, PhD, takes a close look at hard questions in his latest book Why is God Ignoring Me? Part of growing in faith is working through the tough parts of life. No one is exempt, and it is helpful when those ahead of us share the things they've found helpful. The author mentions enough of his personal pain to let the reader know he has wrestled through trial and loss. He speaks from experience and takes the reader back to the solace found in Scripture and personal relationship with God. The subtitle, What to do when it feels like He's giving you the silent treatment, gives hope that there are truly answers to the questions most of us ask sooner or later. The eight chapters teach us how to see God at work, introduce His love letters, and list Scriptural conditions for answered prayer. They discuss the advantages of spiritual disciplines, the need to root out our misconceptions and tell ourselves the truth, and how to learn from the trials of those immortalized in the Bible. There are discussion questions included in the back, and reference notes for each chapter. These pages offer enough answers to direct the searching, enough of the scholarly to serve as an anchor, and enough comfort to encourage the hurting. Tyndale House Publishers has provided a complimentary copy of this book to the reviewer.