Be Still and Know: Wednesday 04/19/2017, 7.30pm
We don’t like being still. We do not like doing what could be interpreted as nothing or inactive. We don’t like being silent. We want to take action, save the world, speak up for ourselves. We don’t like practicing silence. We want to fill the void, and our mind quickly rushes through to-do lists and other things we forgot to remember. It is difficult for us to allow 15-30 seconds of silence during prayer time at church for the time of confession before we say the corporate confession. Silence, being still and being silent is just awkward and seems like a waste of time and space, especially when there are so many other more meaningful things we could be doing or doing more efficiently. And yet, we are told in scripture to be still.
Psalm 46:10 is the reference for the recognizable “Be still and know that I am God.” The context of Psalm 46 is anything but still and silent and peaceful. Instead the earth gives way, waters rage, mountains move. There is great turmoil here! And yet God is in the midst of the disquiet; “a refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble” (Psalm 46:1). God it there and he is there in a powerful a way. The focus of this Psalm is not on us, the reader, but on the power of the Lord. Only a few actions are given to describe our stance in this tumultuous scene: we are to not fear, behold the works of the Lord, to recognize his presence with us, to be still and know he is God. But, on the whole, these are not “active” words in the way we normally think of action; they are words of waiting and trust, words that are reflective and dependent on the power and action of another. Our action is to pause, to watch, to listen, to be in the Lord’s presence and see what action the Lord is doing and what action he might call us to take with him.
Does this Psalm sound familiar? Do you hear the psalm whispering in Jesus calming the storm (Mark 4: 35-41)? The disciples are on the boat and the waters are raging, their world seemingly collapsing. The voice of the Lord cries out once again “BE STILL” and speaks to their fear (“Why are you so afraid?”). The interaction leaves the disciples with a question to recognize God’s presence with them (“Who then is this…?”) and behold his works (“… that even the wind and the sea obey him?”). And the passage encourages them forward to know him and have faith.
Do you hear the Psalm whispering in your own life? Our lives are neither still nor silent and we don’t want to to be silent about it. Sometimes our lives feel like they are in a state of crisis, sometimes we are seeking to discern a certain topic and questioning, and sometimes things are going OK. Wherever you may be, there is an invitation to pray and simply be in the Lord’s presence, to discern what the Lord may be speaking to you, and to give an intentional space for him to speak. 
Come practice being still and knowing he is God with us. On Wednesday, April 19 from 7:30 -9 p.m. Restoration will be open for a time of silent, contemplative prayer. Bring your questions, bring your weary not-so-silent heart, bring yourself. We practice silence because we want to be in his presence. We practice silence because we need to know more of who he is and what he would speak to us. We practice silence because we recognise that we are dependent on his action.
Come, and see what the Lord might speak to you.
~Lauren and the Prayer team
