When you cannot feel God’s presence, continue trusting His revealed character, use the Bible’s language of lament, remain connected to Christian community, and take simple faithful actions. Do not treat the absence of a feeling as proof of God’s absence.
Feelings are important but limited
Feelings communicate real experience. They may reveal grief, fear, anger, exhaustion, or disappointment. They should be acknowledged rather than denied.
Yet feelings do not interpret every reality accurately. A person may feel abandoned while God remains faithful. The Psalms often hold these truths together.
Return to clear promises
Hebrews 13:5 records God’s promise not to leave His people. Romans 8 emphasizes inseparable love in Christ. Psalm 139 describes God’s presence in every place.
Read promises in context. Do not use them as slogans to silence grief. Use them as foundations beneath grief.
Pray lament
Lament gives believers permission to say, “How long?” or “Why?” It brings complaint to God and continues relationship.
Psalms 13, 22, 42, and 88 can be read aloud. Borrow their words when personal language is unavailable.
Avoid manufacturing an experience
Trying harder to create a feeling can increase frustration. Loud music, repeated phrases, or intense effort may produce emotion, but emotion alone cannot establish God’s presence.
Continue ordinary means of grace: Scripture, prayer, gathered worship, the Lord’s Supper as practiced by your church, fellowship, and obedience.
Examine possible barriers
Ask whether known sin is being protected. Also ask whether sleep, grief, chronic pain, medication, depression, or anxiety may be affecting emotion and concentration.
Do not reduce every experience to one cause. A pastor, doctor, or qualified counselor may help when numbness is prolonged or severe.
Remain connected
Isolation often magnifies the conclusion that God is absent. Tell a trusted Christian what you are experiencing. Ask the church to pray when you cannot carry prayer alone.
The faith of community can support an individual through a weak season.
Practice obedience without emotional reward
Faith sometimes acts before comfort arrives. Attend worship, speak truth, care for a responsibility, forgive, or ask for help because God’s Word is trustworthy.
This is not hypocrisy. Hypocrisy pretends to feel what is not felt. Faith honestly acknowledges the feeling and still obeys.
Watch for unexpected forms of grace
God’s presence may be recognized through Scripture remembered, a person’s care, endurance for one more day, conviction leading to repentance, or quiet strength to complete a responsibility.
Do not demand one particular form of experience.
A seven-day practice
- Read one lament psalm daily
- Write the sentence, “Today I feel…”
- Write the sentence, “God has revealed…”
- Complete one ordinary act of faithfulness
- Contact one believer
- Receive appropriate rest and care
Connection to The Pursuit of God
Tozer’s teaching on the universal presence is especially valuable here. God is not present only when noticed. Practicing His presence sometimes means remembering the truth while the feeling remains absent.
A pastoral caution
Persistent hopelessness, thoughts of self-harm, severe withdrawal, or inability to function require immediate support from qualified professionals and trusted people. Spiritual practices can accompany care; they should not replace necessary care.
Biblical anchors
Psalm 22:1-5 grounds the article’s central question. Read the surrounding paragraph or chapter and note what it reveals about God and the response expected from the believer.
Hebrews 13:5 adds an important biblical balance. Read the surrounding paragraph or chapter and note what it reveals about God and the response expected from the believer.
2 Corinthians 5:7 shows how the truth becomes lived obedience. Read the surrounding paragraph or chapter and note what it reveals about God and the response expected from the believer.
Questions for further study
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Which statement in this article most needs to affect your understanding or conduct?
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How does Psalm 22:1-5 confirm, correct, or deepen the article’s answer?
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What fear, attachment, distraction, or habit makes a faithful response difficult?
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Which person or responsibility should be affected by your next step?
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How could you explain or model this truth to another believer?
Put it into practice
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Study: Read Psalm 22:1-5 in context and write one sentence explaining how it contributes to the answer given in this article.
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Respond: Choose one statement—such as “Return to clear promises rather than trying to manufacture an experience.”—and turn it into a specific prayer and action.
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Review: Tell a trusted believer what you plan to do and ask that person to follow up within seven days.
Common mistakes to avoid
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Do not assume every struggle has the same spiritual cause.
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Avoid vague condemnation; identify known sin specifically and receive grace.
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Seek pastoral, medical, or professional help when the situation requires it.
From personal growth to making disciples
Walk patiently with struggling people. Disciple-making includes listening, discernment, grace, and appropriate referral—not only giving an answer. Make the next step simple enough to practice and clear enough to pass on.
Continue with the annotated study guide
The annotated edition helps readers examine barriers honestly while remaining grounded in grace, Scripture, Christian community, and practical obedience. This article answers one focused question; the complete edition brings all ten chapters into one connected study experience.
The Pursuit of God (Annotated): A Modern Study Guide to A. W. Tozer’s Classic on Abiding in Christ and Making Disciples