A Grace Disguised by Jerry Sittser
Week 5: Chapter 4 — The Silent Cry
Read Chapter 4 of A Grace Disguised.
Previewing Week 5 of A Grace Disguised
Read 3 of 8 discussion questions below. Unlock the complete 14-week guide when you’re ready.
Sittser turns to the question of prayer in suffering — what it means to cry out to a God who sometimes seems silent, and whether that silence is itself a form of presence.
Discussion Questions
8 questions1.Sittser describes a kind of prayer that is less articulate petition and more raw, inarticulate cry — what he calls the "silent cry." How does that description compare to the way prayer is usually taught or practiced in your church or tradition?
2.He reflects on the experience of God's apparent silence — praying and hearing nothing. Has that been your experience? How did you interpret that silence at the time, and how do you interpret it now?
3.Sittser draws on the image of Jacob wrestling with the angel in Genesis 32 — a struggle that leaves Jacob both wounded and blessed. How does that story illuminate his understanding of the relationship between suffering and encounter with God?
a.Jacob walks away from that encounter limping. What does it mean that blessing and wounding can coexist — that we do not have to choose between them?
b.Is there a "wound" in your life that you are still carrying that might also be a blessing you haven't yet recognized?