Be Still

Psalms 46:10 ESV  "Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!"

Every day we are surrounded by noise.  The day begins by an alarm clock rudely interrupting our precious sleep dictating the precise moment that we’re supposed to wake up.  Of course we press snooze 8 or 9 times before rolling out of bed.  Then it starts… noise controls our day whether it’s the air conditioner or the refrigerator, the radio or the TV.  We leave our houses just in time to hear car doors slamming, children playing, and adults arguing.  We get in our cars and turn the key giving the engine permission to sing as the fan harmonizes and the air conditioner tries to keep up.  Out of habit we turn on the radio almost convinced that it is an essential part of operating a motor vehicle.

It’s no wonder that when by chance a moment of silence comes we hurry past it into the comfort of noise like a person puts on clothes to avoid being naked.  And then we wonder why it’s so hard to hear God speaking when we pray.  The Bible says, “Be still and know that I am God”.  For someone to embrace silence it is a discipline at the very least and a gift at the most.  I mean we even expect God to speak or move in a loud or “noisy” way just short of a fireworks display.  Yet God chooses and almost prefers to speak out of the silence or stillness.

We see this concept in 1 Kings 19 when Elijah is hiding out in the mouth of the cave.  The Lord calls Elijah to stand on the mountain for he was about to pass by. As Elijah stands there a great and powerful wind tore the mountains and rocks apart, but God wasn’t in the wind.  Then there was an earthquake, but God wasn’t in the earthquake.  Then came a fire, but God wasn’t in the fire.  After all of that, the Bible says that then came a gentle whisper.  When Elijah heard it he pulled his cloak over his face and went out to the mouth of the cave.  Then a voice said to him, “what are you doing here Elijah?”

God could have chosen to speak in any of those other loud and commanding ways, but He chose “a gentle whisper”.  Why?  I think a big reason is God desires closeness, He desires relationship, He desires intimacy.  We are programmed in our culture to get the answer, the assignment, or the order and move on quickly to the next thing.  Time is everything, efficiency is key.  Figure out how to quickly down load something from God and move on.  It’s like He’s a cosmic gum ball machine.  Put a quarter in and out pops your answer.

Yet sometimes it’s not about the answer and it’s not about the question, it’s just about being… being with Him.  And that’s it… No big revelation, no word from God for the day, and no intersession for the saints… just stillness.  God challenged me with this concept the other morning in my prayer time. I was alone pacing the sanctuary; at least I hope I was alone, just talking out loud to God. I was voicing frustration about having a hard time connecting with Him experientially in my one-on-one times with Him. He started showing me a mindset I have that says, “I need to do something or perform well for God to come close”. He asked me to just be still, don’t pray, don’t journal, don’t read, just be still. I've been trying to take 20 minutes a day and force myself to do this. It’s not natural but it’s rewarding and its forcing me to change a mindset that’s been engrained in me for a long time.

Quietness can be the most awkward feeling, or it can be soothing and intimate.  Someone once interviewed Mother Theresa asking her, “so when you talk to God what do you say?” She answered, “I don’t say anything… I listen”. “Ok”, he said, “So… when God talks to you what does He say?” “He doesn't say anything… He listens”, she replied.

What a concept!  To be in the company of God and not to be compelled to interrupt the silence, but to embrace it... to embrace Him.  A quote from the movie Ever After says, “Do not speak unless you can improve the silence.” Obviously prayer is powerful, especially praying out loud, but I'm convinced that the deeper my intimacy and quietness is with God the more on target my prayers will be. So let’s make a habit of pushing pause on the noise of the world around us and entering the place of silence that God desires for us.