Be Still

Good Morning,

Psalm 46:10 (NIV)
"Be still, and know that I am God;
I will be exalted among the nations,
I will be exalted in the earth."

This verse coming to me directly following the message about morning prayer yesterday seems appropriate.

We spoke yesterday about beginning our day with prayer; praising and worshipping God and presenting our petitions to Him as we begin each day and before we do a whole lot else. Today, what this verse says to me is that after we've done as we should in our prayer time we ought to then "Be still..." God tells us through this verse that we are to acknowledge Him..."...know that I am God..." and then, realize that He "...will be exalted among the nations...exalted in the earth."

So, what do you do when you finish your time of prayer? Whether it be as we discussed first thing in the morning or at any other time of the day?

Unfortunately, what most of us do is arise and go about our normal, daily business. Get some breakfast, read the news paper, watch the Weather Channel, get ready for work, get the kids off to school, oh, so many things to do to be "ready" for the day to commence in our lives. I say "unfortunately" because, at least what I hear, is that we haven't spent some very important time simply being still, knowing that He is God, and waiting for Him to speak to us. This time of stillness is, I think, of equal importance...maybe more important...than what we have said as we took the time to pray. Now, after we tell God our thoughts, give Him praise and worship Him as we should, now we need to simply await to hear what He has to say to us.

You see, that's one of the problems with prayer...we don't spend the time finishing it, spending that still, quiet time awaiting God's words to us. We complain that we don't hear from God about our prayers and that He doesn't speak to us or give us direct guidance to what we ask of Him. But, more often than not, the problem isn't that God doesn't "answer" our prayers, it's that we don't stop to listen to Him when He DOES speak to us!

So, when I read this simple verse..."Be still..."...it speaks to me that I ought to simply take some time and wait for Him to talk to me. I've had my say, now I need to let Him have His. The thing is? He will. If we will take the time and just stop and wait a while, God will speak into our minds. Remember, you can't listen to that which you cannot hear. And, if you have too much going on around you, then you are deaf to that still, small voice which speaks into your mind, heart, and soul.

So, give it a try. Yes, of course, pray to begin each day. I think we can all agree that's the absolutely best way to start a day. But then, sit back, be still and quiet, and wait...wait for your Father to speak. He will.

Love, peace, and blessings,

David