Stillness + Silence = Strength

The essence of prayer is listening.  Sure, we talk to God as a friend.  Sure, we praise Him, petition Him, serve Him, give thanks to Him.  But, if we don’t listen…we will never hear His voice directing us.  It’s like an air traffic controller.  If a pilot wants to land the plane safely, he/she must be silent so they can hear where to go and what to do.  The  mouth must stop chattering and the ears must start listening.  This is pretty much the same with prayer.

Two passages I love and have thought about many times,  “Be still and know that I am God,”  from the Bible.  “Strength is born in solitude,” from Bill Hybels is another.  I’ve read these and repeated these many times.  But honestly, the stillness part and listening part…..not so much.  I’m just “too busy” to sit in silence.  Anyways, God is everywhere.  I can hear Him on the run.  Right?

Today, after morning prayer, I decided to give this “stillness” thing a try.  So, I committed to sit in silence for 10 minutes or so.  This is what I heard.  “In the stillness I will find you and you will be at peace.  Be still, be silent, listen with the ear of your heart. Busyness and idle chatter are a distraction.  I am the light in a darkened world.  So, clean out your ears, focus your eyes, and open your heart.  I am right in front of you.  Be still and you will see me and hear my message.”   WOW!  Honestly, I am in shock, utter disbelief, that those words actually came to me.  After a few minutes of sitting, I picked up my pen and just wrote the words I heard.

I guess the bottom line here is pretty simple.  BE STILL, BE STILL, BE STILL, BE STILL….because that is the one place for SURE you will find God.  Maybe  this “stillness thing” really does work.  I invite you to give it a try.  What do you have to lose?