There are times in the spiritual life when we feel empty. Periods when we no longer feel anything, when prayer becomes difficult, when God seems distant or silent. What we used to call fervour gives way to dryness, doubt and discouragement. This is what we call a spiritual desert. And yet, this desert is not empty: it is often a place of hidden growth, of purification, of stripping ourselves bare. It's where God is working on our hearts in depth, even if we can't see it yet. 

Here are five Bible verses to hold on to, hope for and keep walking in those silent, arid moments.

God walks with us in the wilderness - Deuteronomy 1:31

"In the wilderness you saw that the Lord your God carried you as a man carries his son, all the way you walked."

The people of Israel experienced forty years in the wilderness, and yet God was there, every day, carrying his people despite their doubts and unfaithfulness. This verse is a tender reminder: even in our inner dryness, God does not abandon us. He carries us, even when we no longer feel him.

When the soul thirsts for God - Psalm 63:2

"O God, you are my God; I seek you. My soul thirsts for you, my body yearns for you, in a dry, parched land without water."

This psalm puts words to the desert experience. It recognises the thirst, the lack, the waiting. But this very thirst becomes prayer. Silence does not mean the absence of God, but the deepening of desire. This verse can become an inner cry, a true prayer, even if it is naked.

Staying faithful even in silence - Habakkuk 3:17-18

"For the fig tree will not blossom, the vine will produce nothing [...] yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will rejoice in the God of my salvation."

This verse expresses a mature faith. A faith that chooses God, even without consolation, even without visible fruit. It is not a question of pretending, but of saying to God: I feel nothing, but I remain with you. It is in this silent faithfulness that a purer, deeper joy is born, one that is less dependent on emotions.

God acts in secret - Isaiah 45:15

"You are a God who hides yourself, God of Israel, saviour."

This verse acknowledges a mysterious aspect of God: sometimes he hides. Not out of cruelty, but to teach us to look for him differently. In the spiritual desert, God works discreetly, beyond the senses. This verse can help us to accept this phase, not to interpret it as abandonment, but as an invitation to a more stripped-down faith.

The desert is preparing something new - Hosea 2:16

"Therefore I will draw her out and lead her into the desert, and I will speak to her heart."

In this shocking verse, God is saying that he is drawing his people into the desert to speak to their hearts. So the desert is not a punishment, but a place of encounter. When everything else falls silent, God can finally say what is essential. This verse reassures us: the desert is a passage, a place of hidden fruitfulness, a promise of renewal.

Conclusion

The spiritual desert is part of the journey of faith. It is not a sign of failure or lukewarmness, but a time when God works in depth, often in silence. These verses don't make the dryness go away, but they give us something to hold on to, to hope for, and above all to understand that God is there, even when we don't feel him. In the desert, he digs in us a thirst, a faith, a new fidelity. And when the rain returns, everything he has sown will bear fruit, in its own time.