God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer

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In the third installment of Suzanne Collins's New York Times bestselling The Underland Chronicles, Gregor must stop a plague from spreading through the Underland. Simon in his interview shares about his honest – often angry – prayers to God. What are the things that make it hard to be truly emotionally honest with God?’ Q. What did you find most helpful, inspiring or challenging in what Pete Greig, Gemma Hunt and Bob Sorge shared?

Unanswered prayers happen to everyone and can be challenging. But never forget God is a God who loves us. God is also a Holy and powerful God able to do anything. In the pain do not forget that. God will ultimately make all things new. Silence in response to our most heart-felt prayers is the hardest thing for a person of faith to wrestle with. The world collapses. Then all goes quiet. Words can't explain what we're going through. People avoid you and don't know what to say. So you turn to Him and you pray. You need Him more than ever before. But somehow even God Himself seems on mute. And this sinks into us with a sense of futility... Some prayers aren’t answered because creation is “subjected to frustration” and hast not yet been fully “liberated from its bondage to decay” (Rom. 8:20-21). Tragically, life in such an environment is inevitably going to be acutely difficult at times.”Writing out of the pain of his wife's fight for her life but also the wonder of watching the prayer movement they founded touch many lives, Pete Greig wrestles with the dark side of prayer and emerges with a hard-won message of hope, comfort and profound biblical insight for all who suffer in silence.

In this brilliant, poignant, and deeply personal book, Pete Greig explores the experience of God's silence in the midst of suffering. Without dodging the reality of the dilemma—God is powerful and loving and yet our prayers are often met with total silence—Pete leads us through our questions and disappointments to a place of hope. God on Mute is a must-read for anyone facing the bewildering experience of unanswered prayer.' Dr. Amy Orr-Ewing

Q. Do we as a community lean too hard on one side of this equation, either focusing so much on hope that we aren’t honest about pain, or focusing so much on pain that we fail to have hope? How can we hold both hope and pain together?

Q. Bob Sorge seems to be able to love and trust God even though he’s lived with incredible disappointment for decades. How is this possible? Faith. Some prayers we don't believe will get answered. However, faith grows as we get to know God. Five free films based around the themes of Pete Greig’s best-selling book God on Mute, designed to provoke honest discussion around some of the hardest and most personal questions we all ask.Q. In God on Mute Pete Greig says that “God’s silence is not his absence but rather his presence in another form”. In what ways have you experienced God’s presence in the midst of silence in the past? Please note that this is a challenging question, especially for those who have experienced pain and loss, so do be aware of specific circumstances your group members might have faced as you ask this question) You may want to take a little time before the meeting starts to pray through Isaiah 61:1-7. Apply vv 1-3a to yourself, asking the Spirit to anoint you today to ‘bind up broken hearts’ (v.1) and to ‘comfort all who mourn.’ (v.2). Then pray vv. 3b-7 over the members of the group. Life is tough. Creation has not yet been fully liberated from bondage. Life is inevitably doing to be difficult at times.

During these video sessions and small group discussions, the aim is to share together from personal experience and learn from one another, seeking God and asking how, together, we can learn and grow. What I relish about this book is that Pete faces the problems full-on, without apology or excuse. . . . It is a Christian classic.' Justin Welby, archbishop of Canterbury Product Details Q. Do you think that it’s possible for everyone to find a purpose in – or in spite of – their pain? This work will not rid you of all your doubts, but it will help you to frame your understanding, help you on your spiritual journey. I'm surprised more people haven't read this book. Pete Greig is a very committed Christian, who founded a prayer movement called 24-7. 24-7 has been hugely influential, has spread across the globe and has generated literally thousands upon thousands of amazing stories of answered prayer. So when Pete's wife Samie has a terrifying fit, is diagnosed with a massive brain tumour, has brain surgery and is left with epilepsy, Pete is ideally placed to pray for her and see her illness healed and her epilepsy disappear. Isn't he?Many of us have struggled with prayers that seem to go unanswered, and Pete Greig has been down that difficult road of doubt. This book is both intensely personal and deeply theological—a book born out of his wife Sammy's fight for her life after a horrifying diagnosis.