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God on Mute: Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer

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Pete Greig gives us an example of real faith and courage as he tells the story of the perilous journey he and his wife Samie have been on since a tumor the size of an orange was removed from her brain and she was left with chronic epilepsy. Though leaders in an international prayer ministry called 24-7, Pete and his wife have had to deal with the issue of praying hard for healing in Samie's body, being grateful for the preservation of her life, but having to accept just partial healing. Using the prayers of Jesus' final days (agony in the garden on Thursday, from the cross on Friday, the silence of Saturday, and the triumph of Easter) is a brilliant way to show that our prayers may come out of anguish--but so did those of Jesus. In the end, Pete and his wife are left with real faith (stripped to its essence) in the true God, and they show us how to go forward in life with the best prayer of all: "Lord, have mercy..."

Pete's Greig's book, God on Mute, has to be one of the most honest and compelling discussions of prayer I've ever had the pleasure to read. Gone are the platitudes and cliches regarding prayer and how it is supposed to work that one finds in most contemporary discussions on prayer. Instead, framed within the four days of Christ's passion, the reader finds an honest discussion about unanswered prayer and those times when God chooses to be silent.

Written from Greig's own experience when confronted with his wife's serious medical condition, the book starts from the questions of why and where is God from Christ's experience in the Garden of Gethsemane and works through issues of prayer including lament and issues of abandonment (Good Friday and Christ's crucifixion), the silence of God (Saturday and Christ in the tomb) and the hope that springs eternal both in the future but also in the here and now (Christ's resurrection).

The reader will not find easy answers in this book and therein lies it's strength. Greig does an excellent job summing up the theology and thinking behind unanswered prayer and also in giving that theology a human face. These are not abstract discussions about prayer but very real considerations faced by anyone who has pleaded to God for something and not received an answer.

I would recommend this book to anyone seeking to better understand real prayer in a real world with a real God. I cannot praise it highly enough.

From Maundy Thursday to Good Friday to Silent Saturday and then Easter Sunday, Pete and Samie Greig use the blessing of their Life's story to share the same with the reader. God on Mute - Engaging The Silence of Unanswered Prayer is a very important topic, relevant to our times as people seek the precarious and shallow certainty in various forms of fundamentalism --- in a number of faith persuasions that populate this planet...not only the Christian faith. Thus, this is a book I would recommend to Muslims, Hindus, Jews -- whatever the favor of your faith is today.

Been "burned" by "unanswered prayer? Be honest. Have questions about unanswered prayer? Buy this book and savor the reality of the life story of two people who's feet are planted firmly in the earth of the reality of daily living --- no matter what country or culture you might presently reside in.

Listen to Samie and Pete in a few quotes below:

Samie - p. 260 "I don't always understand God's ways in my life, but I'm absolutely certain that He can be trusted."

Pete - p. 23 - "It seems to me thst those of us who spend our time encouraging people to pray and share the amazing stories of unanswered prayer also have a sworn duty to care for those whose prayers appear not to be working."

Pete - p.211 "Life's great trials invariably make us bitter or make us better. They never leave us unchanged."

Pete - p. 67 "It is ultimately not comforting to abandon all hope of miracles by shrinking our view of God's power to the size of our own pain."

Pete p. 19 - "Christians are quick to spread glory stories, but disappointments tend to be brushed under the carpet because we don't want to discourage anyone at church or be a bad commercial at work. But God isn't like us. He doesn't get insecure about His performance, and He never asks us to cover up for Him."

Pete p.55 - "The God of the cosmos thinks you are amazing. You! Not just some heavenly, idealized version you might one day become. You --- the person who does such stupid things. You --- thje one with bad hair, bad breath and bad desires."

Finally, Pete p. 125 - "In spite of all the increases in technology and increased life expectancy, there is an extraordinary fragility to our generation. We collapse easily, our marriages fall apart, and we are quick to take offence. In our celebrity obsessed world that is cosseted away from death and anesthesized against pain, we need to be reminded that it's normal to have problems, get sick, experience financial challenges and face relational breakdown. Jesus promises us, "You will have trouble" (John 16:33), but not many of us stick that verse on the fridge."

I adored this book. It's a lesson that can only be taught by those who have lived it and had the courage and disciplne to share it with us. Read it. You'll be sorry if you don't.

Thank you very much Pete and Samie.

Bill Dahl

Perhaps this book was meaningful to me because Pete's experiences, along with his wife, Samie's, have parallels to my own.

Plenty of people have theoretical answers to what happens when God is silent in the midst of life's inevitable crises, but such people are rarely helpful when the bottom actually falls out. I greatly appreciated the transparency and honesty of this volume. It was refreshing not to be smothered with the obligatory Christian pablum and spiritual platitudes about suffering.

Therefore, I am not embarrassed to recommend this book to friends when events do not go according to the script they would prefer, and God seems nowhere to be found in the midst of the pain and confusion.

Pete Grieg, founder of the 24-7 Prayer Ministry, tackles the tough questions we face during times when it seems like God is silent, and our prayers are not being heard--much less answered.

Facing his wife's health problems and a crisis of his own faith, Greig examines Christ's last three days on earth, finding insight in this slice of Christ's life during which even the prayers of Jesus seemed met with Divine silence.

On Maundy Thursday, Jesus asks the Father to spare him from suffering. On Good Friday, Christ cries out "God, why have you forsaken me?" As the events of Holy Week unfold, it is clear that God allows suffering and does not answer the 'why' questions, even when Jesus asks.

Throughout the book, author Greig scatters fifteen possible reasons for unanswered prayer, including having selfish motives, praying against the laws of nature, and the fact that our own fallible free will is often at work. Each chapter of the books ends with an appropriate prayer through which the reader is drawn to seek and understand God's ways more deeply.

Appendices include a list of heroes of the faith, with their own experiences of unanswered prayer, plus a discussion guide for small groups and a personal checklist that the reader can use to evaluate her or his own prayer life.

Avoiding simplistic formulas, this is a much-needed book for those who suffer and seem unable to access God's help. Clearly, the author is a fellow struggler--but one who points the way to grace and maturity.

The Foreword is by Brian McLaren, author of numerous Christian books.

Armchair Interviews says: Powerful message at Easter time and all the year through

After four years of infertility and two IVF cycles, my husband and I had just lost our third baby at 14 weeks gestation. I was angry and searching for answers as to why God didn't "hear" my cries and answer my prayers to become a parent. I was meandering through the book store when this book's cover stood out to me. At first I thought it was a book about how people aren't allowed to talk about God (in school, etc), but when I read the second line, "Engaging the Silence of Unanswered Prayer," it immediately spoke to me. I devoured the book...and liked it so much I bought another copy on Amazon and sent it to my father, who always struggled with why God didn't save his broken marriage to my mother or allow him to get a coveted promotion. Pete Greig does a stellar job of explaining where God is when we're hurting and crying out to him (He's right next to us, sometimes carrying us, and crying with us). Greig also empowers the reader to pray with bold faith, but understanding that miracles are MIRACLES for a reason--because they're not common. Nothing is outside of the power of our omnipotent and omniscient creator, but as Greig so eloquently points out--if God speeds up or slows down the "train schedule," it can and will affect others who depend on the train of life continuing on time.

I love the layout of the book...Greig takes the reader through the stations of the cross in explaining how even Christ, God's ONLY son, received silence in response to His prayers to take away His cup of suffering on the night before His crucifixion. Understanding that there is purpose greater than what we can see in the "now" is a hard truth to process in the midst of terrible pain and suffering, but God impressed His everlasting peace and truth on me while reading this book. I cannot even confess how many times I cried while reading this book: from the tragic story of how Joseph Scriven came to write "What a Friend We Have in Jesus (Everything to God in Prayer)," to the incident in the car when Greig's wife started to seize on the side of the road and he prayed so vehemently that her body ceased to tremble...and many moments in between and after. And I loved the illustration of the boy calling out "Abba" Father and how it can serve as the only prayers our lips need to utter when we're in deep distress.

This book has empowered me to let loose the binds of suffering and approach God with more understanding, more humility, more acceptance, more peace. I have recommended this book to everyone I know who endures unanswered prayer. It has the potential to change your life.

I've read quite a few books about prayer. I'm always one that wants a stronger prayer life and I think that is true of those who honestly are seeking the Lord. But sometimes, we get stuck and it feels like our prayers are hitting the ceiling and bouncing right back to us, making us stumble back and fall flat on our backs. That's ok for it to happen if we have a realistic outlook on who God is and what He desires.

With having read so many books on prayer, even by highly esteemed believers and authors like Andrew Murray and Elmer Towns, I always walked away from their books on prayer feeling like there was something really missing in their message and their outlook on Biblical prayer. It would aggravate me, because I couldn't put my finger on it at all of what was missing.

I've been following Pete Greig and the 24/7 prayer movement for about 5 years and I've read the books that he's written. Each time I've been encouraged by his books, but would walk away knowing that something was still missing.

When I saw "God On Mute" in the store, it's subtitle intrigued me and after 3 weeks of fighting it, I gave into buying it and let it sit in my place for about 2 months. I picked it about 4 weeks ago and read it and finally that "missing something" that had been so nagging my mind was filled.

Pete wrote straight from the gut and heart and laid his heart out for all to see even with his struggle in praying to God. He pulls no punches and just tells it like it is and is very realistic in giving reasons why God may not answer prayers. And amazingly, they all make sense. He's speaking from experience, and man, this book is really refreshing.

Anyone who is struggling with the concept of prayer should get ahold of a copy of this book. I think you'll find a great deal to chew on and even find peace about situations that you are going through. I know I did and so I highly recommend this book to anyone who is dealing with the heartache of unanswered prayer.

This is the first book I've ever read that really dealt with the most diffult topic of engaging the silence of unanswered prayer. Too many want to skim over it and not face it head on, but Pete Greig took hold of it and grappled with it and wrote a great book right from his heart.

I am a computer professional and was looking at an Xna book, but somehow I ended in this book's page. I always believed in prayer, but in the last 2 years, everything that could go wrong in my life, did. I started losing my faith. Does God exist? If He does, does He care about me? Does He love me? Anyone who has gone through this will know how I felt. This book made me understand what prayer really is. I regained my faith and am thankful to Pete Greig. If you feel like I did, buy it.

For believers who get down on their knees then aren't sure what to say, don't want to ask for, if they should ask, or if they're being heard. Real input from a real fellow believer.

Fabulous book! Very real, very raw... really helpful. -The sort you'd like to give to everyone you know because everyone can relate to the topic of unanswered prayer. Thanks Pete Greig for avoiding cliche, for digging deep and sharing some real treasures. It's the sort of book that makes you cry and gives you hope at the same time. It's about time someone wrote something for this generation on suffering.