“Still” — The word means motionless, unmoving, quiet and calm. It’s hard to get to this point physically and spiritually…but that’s where the human spirit is able to hear from God.
That’s where conscience speaks. That’s where memory recalls what’s wrong, what’s stressful, what’s troubling us. Here is where we can be reminded to take everything to God.
The other morning as I sat singing, praying and reading, I realized something was going on inside my heart, so I stopped to listen. I heard the gentle voice of the Lord speaking to me. I realized again that a large part of praying includes listening to God.
I’m an active person. I am always doing, writing, working, talking, studying, speaking, reading, fixing, going somewhere or making plans.
There is more power in the stillness of God’s presence than in a multitude of courses.
“Lord, show me Your ways, teach me Your paths, I ask You to lead me beside still waters.” Sheep cannot drink from moving streams; nor do we receive living water when life is busy and overcrowded. Jesus often compared people to sheep, which means we have some characteristics of sheep.
Brother Lawrence, a godly monk of centuries ago, wrote a small book that changed the world: “Practicing the Presence of God.” If you are one of those whose life is filled with noise and busy-ness, always running to keep up, I suspect you’ve not been practicing the presence of God. Our minds get overcrowded and overworked. You know how it is. We are collectors of stuff, activities, things, possessions and on and on. The closets get full, the cupboards get of full of stuff.
Many people have a garage for their car but they can’t park in the garage because its full or half full of stuff they never use. We do the same mentally, looking for new stuff. “Tell me something I haven’t heard. Where can I find a new preacher.” Always searching for something different.
There is more power in the stillness of God’s presence than in a multitude of courses. I have no issue with learning, but when believers and leaders abandon the presence of God for another learning activity, another training, another seminar or the latest book, we have a problem. What Christians need is the presence of God.
When was the last you were still long enough to hear God speak into your life?
