A DEVOTIONAL THOUGHT: When God is silent! That was the title of a devotion I read this month. God sometimes seems to be silent particularly in our prayer life. We wonder whether He hears or even cares about us. Job felt that way (Job 30:20) as did Habakkuk and Isaiah. Several psalms speak of God's silence, too. Jesus experienced God's silence from the cross, yet God is always present. His Spirit helps us in our weakness (Romans 8:26) as He prays for us. Thomas Pollock's hymn stanza reminds us: "Though no Father seems to hear, Though no light our spirits cheer, May we know that God is near. Hear us, holy Jesus" (LSB 447:12).