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A freeing way to silence the noise of the world, enjoy ...
“Be Still and Know”
Is being still before God essential to our spiritual growth and intimacy with Him?
Since I discovered Christ as life, there has been a growing “knowing” of God. Over these years God has persuaded me that He loves me, He is for me, and that He is good. However, there is a deeper place of communion and knowing God for me and that the revealed to me in the first part of Psalm 46:10, which says, “Be still and know that I am God…”
As I was meditating on this verse one day, I heard the Spirit insert this thought, “if you are not still you won’t know.” In other words, there is a level of knowing God that can only come from being in stillness/silence/solitude. The Lord was making it clear that unless I spend time in silence and solitude with Him that there is a level of growing and of knowing Him that I will never know.
How necessary is silence and solitude?
I am convinced that silence and solitude are like physical breathing. As with physical oxygen being essential for physical life, communion in silence is the “spiritual” oxygen that is essential to for us to live spiritually. When it comes to silence or solitude, I know that if I don’t spend the time with the Lord it will result in suffocating my walk and my relationship with the Lord.
I don’t know about you but I wish that every time I stopped communing with the Lord I would stop breathing physically. What a reminder that would be to quickly step back into communion.
Why do we struggle with being still before God?
I believe the three greatest obstacles to being still are busyness, priorities and what I call SADD. We are all busy. It doesn’t matter the stage of life everyone is busy. The “to do” lists are endless along with the tyranny of the urgent. The problem with busyness is that it prevents us from being still, it moves us away from intimacy and oneness with God and eventually will create a distancing from God altogether.
Priorities is another struggle. For so many Christians, being still before God is not a priority. They either don't understand the value of it or they have crowded it out with “higher” priorities. The third obstacle is what I SADD (Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder). I think we all struggle with this malady when it comes to being still. We can sit still for just a moment and like a tsunami, distracting thoughts come crashing like waves against the stillness.
What are the spiritual benefits to being in silence and solitude before the Lord?
Benefit #1- You will experience a greater rest in your soul. It is a rest that not only occurs when you are silent before God but it is a rest you can experience even during the busiest part of your day.
Benefit #2 – Your spiritual hearing will increase. The quieter your soul becomes through the “holy habit” of being still, the greater your ability to hear God’s voice.
Benefit #3 – There is a deeper knowing of God. For me, this deeper knowing has come in three ways. First of all, I am experiencing a greater sense of His presence. Secondly, this time of silence is creating a greater hunger and thirst for God.
Finally, it creates a greater longing to be with God rather than to be caught up in the busyness of life.
What does being silent before God look like?
If you have not spent any length of time in solitude then here are some practical steps to do so. Find a quiet place and a comfortable place to sit or kneel. You might start with a verse or a word in a verse and begin focusing on that word or you might focus on Jesus, the Father or the Holy Spirit. Early on, you will find your mind wandering and perhaps gravitating to a to do list or something or someone that is troubling you.
When those thoughts you are tempted to take ownership of and run with come to mind, simply refocus on the word or scripture or ask the Holy Spirit to take those thoughts captive. Early on this may be a battle because we live in constant distraction. Even though you are still physically, it may take some time for your soul to come to a state or rest. As your soul settles down, simply sit in God’s presence. Sometimes He may speak to you but other times He will not.
When He does, His voice typically comes in the form of His thoughts or His word. Don’t be concerned if you have not heard anything. The Lord sometimes wants to just enjoy my/our presence in silence. Early on, I would suggest being still for just one minute. From there, continue to add on to that minute. It may be a few seconds or even another minute. Over time you will find it easier to spend and maintain the silence before the Lord. As you continue this practice, your desire for being with the Lord will be greater than your desire to be caught up into the “noise” of the world.
The Lord is inviting you. Will you accept His invitation?
What we need to understand is that the Lord is giving us an ongoing invitation to commune with Him. Think of it. He is inviting you and I into His presence moment by moment. Remember that in the Old Testament, only the chief priests could enter the holy of holies to commune with God. However, as New Testament believers, God lives in union within us, with the result that we have an open and continuous invitation to join Him and commune with Him. Will you join Him?
“My soul waits in silence for God only. From Him is my salvation.” Psalm 62:1
“…in quietness and confidence is my strength….”Isaiah 30:15
“My soul, wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from Him.” Psalm 62:5
My prayer for you is that you will cultivate the "holy" habit of being still before God. If you do, I promise you that He will show you sides of Himself that He has never shown you before.
“Be Still and Know”
Is being still before God essential to our spiritual growth and intimacy with Him?
Since I discovered Christ as life, there has been a growing “knowing” of God. Over these years God has persuaded me that He loves me, He is for me, and that He is good. However, there is a deeper place of communion and knowing God for me and that the revealed to me in the first part of Psalm 46:10, which says, “Be still and know that I am God…”
As I was meditating on this verse one day, I heard the Spirit insert this thought, “if you are not still you won’t know.” In other words, there is a level of knowing God that can only come from being in stillness/silence/solitude. The Lord was making it clear that unless I spend time in silence and solitude with Him that there is a level of growing and of knowing Him that I will never know.
How necessary is silence and solitude?
I am convinced that silence and solitude are like physical breathing. As with physical oxygen being essential for physical life, communion in silence is the “spiritual” oxygen that is essential to for us to live spiritually. When it comes to silence or solitude, I know that if I don’t spend the time with the Lord it will result in suffocating my walk and my relationship with the Lord.
I don’t know about you but I wish that every time I stopped communing with the Lord I would stop breathing physically. What a reminder that would be to quickly step back into communion.
Why do we struggle with being still before God?
I believe the three greatest obstacles to being still are busyness, priorities and what I call SADD. We are all busy. It doesn’t matter the stage of life everyone is busy. The “to do” lists are endless along with the tyranny of the urgent. The problem with busyness is that it prevents us from being still, it moves us away from intimacy and oneness with God and eventually will create a distancing from God altogether.
Priorities is another struggle. For so many Christians, being still before God is not a priority. They either don't understand the value of it or they have crowded it out with “higher” priorities. The third obstacle is what I SADD (Spiritual Attention Deficit Disorder). I think we all struggle with this malady when it comes to being still. We can sit still for just a moment and like a tsunami, distracting thoughts come crashing like waves against the stillness.
What are the spiritual benefits to being in silence and solitude before the Lord?
Benefit #1- You will experience a greater rest in your soul. It is a rest that not only occurs when you are silent before God but it is a rest you can experience even during the busiest part of your day.
Benefit #2 – Your spiritual hearing will increase. The quieter your soul becomes through the “holy habit” of being still, the greater your ability to hear God’s voice.
Benefit #3 – There is a deeper knowing of God. For me, this deeper knowing has come in three ways. First of all, I am experiencing a greater sense of His presence. Secondly, this time of silence is creating a greater hunger and thirst for God.
Finally, it creates a greater longing to be with God rather than to be caught up in the busyness of life.
What does being silent before God look like?
If you have not spent any length of time in solitude then here are some practical steps to do so. Find a quiet place and a comfortable place to sit or kneel. You might start with a verse or a word in a verse and begin focusing on that word or you might focus on Jesus, the Father or the Holy Spirit. Early on, you will find your mind wandering and perhaps gravitating to a to do list or something or someone that is troubling you.
When those thoughts you are tempted to take ownership of and run with come to mind, simply refocus on the word or scripture or ask the Holy Spirit to take those thoughts captive. Early on this may be a battle because we live in constant distraction. Even though you are still physically, it may take some time for your soul to come to a state or rest. As your soul settles down, simply sit in God’s presence. Sometimes He may speak to you but other times He will not.
When He does, His voice typically comes in the form of His thoughts or His word. Don’t be concerned if you have not heard anything. The Lord sometimes wants to just enjoy my/our presence in silence. Early on, I would suggest being still for just one minute. From there, continue to add on to that minute. It may be a few seconds or even another minute. Over time you will find it easier to spend and maintain the silence before the Lord. As you continue this practice, your desire for being with the Lord will be greater than your desire to be caught up into the “noise” of the world.
The Lord is inviting you. Will you accept His invitation?
What we need to understand is that the Lord is giving us an ongoing invitation to commune with Him. Think of it. He is inviting you and I into His presence moment by moment. Remember that in the Old Testament, only the chief priests could enter the holy of holies to commune with God. However, as New Testament believers, God lives in union within us, with the result that we have an open and continuous invitation to join Him and commune with Him. Will you join Him?
“My soul waits in silence for God only. From Him is my salvation.” Psalm 62:1
“…in quietness and confidence is my strength….”Isaiah 30:15
“My soul, wait in silence for God only. For my hope is from Him.” Psalm 62:5
My prayer for you is that you will cultivate the "holy" habit of being still before God. If you do, I promise you that He will show you sides of Himself that He has never shown you before.
