Psalm 46

Psalm 46:10
“Be still, and know that I am God!”

Jesus regularly took time to withdraw to lonely places to be still and pray. Moses, Elijah, and John the Baptist spent decades alone with God before launching their public ministry. It was nurtured out of a deep relationship with God that included intentional times of listening and communing in stillness and silence. If it were good for these pillars of our faith, it is something that would no doubt benefit us.

Silence before God also shows reverence. Having a silent trust in God’s saving power is a source of comfort and strength. We live in a world of noise and distractions, so silence and solitude are perhaps some of the most challenging spiritual disciplines for us today. Spending time in silence and stillness with God is a necessary and valuable counterweight to the thoughtless and excessive words we are routinely exposed to in the world today. Silence reveals and heals. Silence is where God dwells. Silence brings us back to basics, brings us back to our senses and brings us back to our selves. Silence locates us. Without that return we can go so far away from our true natures and we become someone else.

Ask yourself how you might be able to create additional time in your day for silence?

Be still, cease striving.

Prayer: Lord, help me to be still and wait patiently for You in silence. I know You are always present with me and that You delight in spending time with me

~Reed Leiting, Ministry Board