There is a powerful and surprising moment at the opening of Revelation 8 that reads, "When the Lamb opened the seventh seal, there was silence in heaven for about half an hour." (Revelation 8:1) Can you even imagine? Complete silence in this space typically bursting with praise. This text wasn't written for the purpose of telling us to be silent before the Lord. But when we study it, we do find that as all of heaven appreciates the totality of the coming judgment of God, praise stops. Prayer stops. All speaking and singing cease as the seventh seal is opened, and they look upon the greatness and terror of the coming wrath of God. As believers in Christ, we do not have to worry about the terror of God's wrath. But we should be concerned for those who are not believers. It should empty us of words at times as we sit before the Lord in a holy hush and contemplate the deep things of our faith. Are you comfortable being silent before God? Sometime this weekend, set a timer and sit silently before the Lord for 10 minutes. Clear your mind. Turn off your phone. (Don't just turn it over; turn it off.) Read a passage of Scripture, perhaps even Revelation 8:1-5, and then sit silently before the Lord. You may be uncomfortable at first, but over time, as you make sitting in silence with Him a regular rhythm in your life, clarity, conviction, and comfort will come. (fb)

Have you ever felt like your prayers were not being heard? As we kneel by our beds or in our offices, as we bow our heads or find ourselves walking along praying, we are speaking to the God of heaven, but we don't see anything take place. We pray for things very near and dear to our hearts, but we don't necessarily witness the unfolding of those answers immediately. Prayer is an act of faith. We may not feel like our prayers are being heard and answered, but because the Christian life is based on truth, we know we don't have to trust our feelings. Our feelings matter, but the truth of the identity of God does not rest on our emotional state. We don't have to feel like our prayers are being heard to believe they are heard. Scripture tells us that heaven is listening. God hears and responds to every single prayer prayed in righteousness. We find this encouraging truth even in the unfolding of the judgment of the world in Revelation 8, where the prayers of the saints are present in the throne room of God. Keep praying. Heaven's listening. Want to know more? Don't miss watching Dr. Horton's encouraging message "Heaven Listens" from the Unsealed series here: https://djhorton.com/sermons/ (fb)