Dad, Are You There?
Christian podcaster and influencer, Allie Beth Stuckey, recalls an interview with Christian music superstar, Matthew West:
Christian singer Matthew West shared a powerful story about taking his daughter to camp. During an exercise, the daughters were blindfolded and the dads were told to guide them through the woods after repeating three instructions: I will never leave you. You can ask me anything. And only listen for my voice.
At first, he could guide her easily. Then the counselors signaled for him to remove his hand. He was no longer allowed to speak unless his daughter remembered she could ask him anything. Eventually, they got off track on their hike and a counselor quietly led her into a ditch without her realizing it.
After standing there blindfolded and confused, she finally asked, “Dad, are you there?”
Matthew said he teared up as he answered, “Yeah. I’m here.”
She continues:
This moment reminded him how often we forget the same truths about God: that He never leaves us, we can ask Him anything, and we need to listen for His voice.
"My sheep listen to my voice; I know them, and they follow me" (John 10:27, NIV).
"You shall walk after the Lord your God and fear him and keep his commandments and obey his voice, and you shall serve him and hold fast to him" (Deuteronomy 13:4, ESV).
"When There Is No News" God's Presence Is Constant
On April 18, 1930, the BBC announced, “There is no news.”
On April 18, 1930, nothing at all newsworthy occurred — at least according to the BBC. At the start of its regular news broadcast at 8:45 p.m., the BBC announced, “Good evening. Today is Good Friday. There is no news.” This unexpected declaration was followed by 15 minutes of piano music, before the radio station resumed its broadcast of Wagner’s opera Parsifal.
In our fast-paced, information-saturated world, it might be hard to imagine a day when literally nothing made the news. But even on that date so long ago, the stunning announcement, “There is no news,” took everyone by surprise.
Now, think about that for a moment. An entire global news agency, tasked with informing the public, had nothing to report. No headlines. No drama. No crisis. Just ... silence and a little music.
That moment reminds me a lot of the seasons in our spiritual lives when it seems like nothing is happening. We read our Bibles, we pray, we go to church—but we don’t feel goosebumps or hear God speak loudly. It’s tempting to think, “God must not be doing anything in my life right now.”
But friends, silence doesn’t mean absence! Just because the headlines of our lives feel quiet doesn't mean God isn't at work behind the scenes. Some of God’s greatest work is done in the stillness.
Psalm 46:10 says, "Be still, and know that I am God."
It doesn’t say, “Be busy,” or “Make some noise.” It says, “Be still.”
In those quiet seasons, God is still sovereign. He’s still shaping you, preparing you, guiding you—even when there’s “no news.”
So the next time your life feels silent, and heaven seems quiet, remember: Just because you don’t see it or hear it, it doesn’t mean God isn’t doing something powerful.
"For God alone, O my soul, wait in silence, for my hope is from him" (Psalms 62:5, ESV).
Of Prayers and Paper Airplanes
OBJECT LESSON ...
Take a moment right now to write down a prayer request on a slip of paper. Your mission is to get your prayer request up to the pulpit. You can throw it. You can try to shoot it with a rubber band. Or you can fold it into a paper airplane and try to fly it. Do your best, then let 'er fly!
We often make certain assumptions about prayer. We think it’s some kind of game with a long list of complicated rules, or that it requires some magical strategy or gimmick. So we devise elaborate methods in order to get God to hear us and accept our prayers.
Maybe we think we’ll be heard for our many words, or our impressive words. Or maybe the task looks so daunting that we don't even try.
But truth is, we could have simply walked up here and placed our prayer request on the pulpit.
God doesn't want us to just try to be heard from afar. Rather, He invites us to come near to Him.
Prayer isn’t about getting the right words, but having the right heart -- a heart transformed into a child of God.
"Come close to God, and God will come close to you" (James 4:8, NLT).
"Let us then with confidence draw near to the throne of grace, that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need" (Hebrews 4:16, ESV).
""Therefore, brothers, since we have confidence to enter the holy places by the blood of Jesus ... let us draw near with a true heart in full assurance of faith ..." (Hebrews 10:19, 22, ESV).