Bentz, Joseph (Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)

Silent God Bentz, Joseph (Drexel University, Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, USA)

As Christians, many of us experience times in our spiritual lives when it feels like God is silent. For reasons we don?t understand, we?re unable to sense His presence, feel His comfort, or hear His direction. And although we may be following Him as best we know, our spiritual lives feel dry and He seems more distant than ever. In Silent God, Joseph Bentz addresses the pain and bewilderment many feel when they can?t hear God?s voice. He examines the possible influences that can unknowingly invade our lives and block our ability to hear God. Television, radio, iPods, cell phones, internet, email, traffic, and crowded schedules contribute to our noisy world. Every moment is bombarded by noise, both external and mental, that clutters our thoughts and causes us to lose the ability or desire to settle down and really commune with and listen to God. Bentz explains how the accumulation of all this noise can contribute to God?s silence in our lives and shares valuable and practical ways to control the noise so we can hear God once again. He also explores ways God may use silence as a means of working out His spiritual purposes in our lives. Bentz shows how sometimes our spiritual routines become spiritual comforts that, instead of pointing us to God, end up replacing Him. He offers insight and understanding for persevering through the silence and reassures us that doing so will result in essential spiritual growth and a deeper commitment to Christ. Silent God reveals a new understanding of the mystery and power of God and shows how to find Him through the silence and emerge with a greater sense of purpose and a deeper connection with Christ and His love.