Blocked, or Held

"Wait for the Lord; be strong, and let your heart take courage; wait for the Lord." (Psalm 27:14)

So how do you tell the difference? How do you know whether your prayer is blocked by something in you, or whether God is holding you in a silence he means to use? There is no clean test, and anyone who offers you one should be distrusted. But there is one thing worth noticing, and it helps.

A blocked prayer usually has a name. If you sit still long enough and are willing to be honest, the thing in the way will surface. It will have a face. It will come with a conversation attached, or a purchase, or a habit, or a person you have not spoken to in six years. The Spirit does not play hide and seek about sin. When he convicts, he is specific.

Silence is not specific about anything. You search and search and nothing comes up, no name and no face, and the searching itself starts to feel like an accusation you are leveling at yourself. That is not conviction. That is anxiety wearing conviction's coat. So do the honest thing once. Search. Ask him plainly to show you. And if he shows you something, deal with it. But if he does not, then stop digging and start waiting, because you are not blocked. You are being held, and the holding is not punishment.