We live in such a fast paced world that being still is something that we have to learn. In fact, in the Western culture, it seems almost unnatural!
We need to learn to be still before the Lord. He is always a gentleman. He will not push His way in. He must be invited and room must be made for Him. Here are some steps we can take to learn to be still before the Lord:
A. Find a Quiet place: Noise pollution is all around us. Sometimes it is so bad that we cannot even think, much less hear from God. In the Gospels, we see Jesus going to a deserted place many times to pray. He knew that to hear from His heavenly Father, that He had to get alone and it be a quiet place. We can follow His example. Remember, we need to have stillness without and within.
B. Quieting the mind: Have you ever tried to go to sleep at night, but your mind would not turn off? It seems that all the things that were not attended to or were left unresolved demand our attention when we are finally still at night. The same thing can happen in prayer. The minute we try to be still, our mind starts screaming, “How about this? And you forgot to..” Try jotting down those things and commit yourself to take care of them after prayer. This will usually calm your mind down.
C. Don’t force the stillness: It seems the harder we try to be still, the harder it becomes. Do not force it simply allow it to happen. It will take time to learn this new behavior.
D. Give time to be still: This is not a business meeting with God; it is a time of fellowship. Do not rush through your time with God. He is an honored guest and a very close friend that you have invited into this special time. God does not have an agenda of things to tell you as much as He wants to develop the friendship and rich fellowship. Out of this fellowship He will begin to share with you in wonderful ways.
E. The sin problem: As we come into God’s presence we become aware of some unconfused sin, do not draw back from fellowship! Confess the sin honestly and openly before Him, asking Him to wash you by His blood. This actually increases fellowship with Him. How? Because we become so thankful that He has quickly forgiven us and brings us closer.
II. Helping us focus on Him. Psalm 100:1-5
A. This psalm shares with us the appropriate way to come before God. “Come before His presence with singing..” “Enter His gates with thanksgiving and His courts with praise…” This parallels with Jesus teaching on prayer “Our Father in heaven, hallowed be Your name.” (Matthew 6:9) Jesus started His model prayer with praise to the Gather. Praise and thanksgiving does several things:
B. Build a picture in your mind of Jesus and you sharing with Him. This may sound strange at first, but in reality, it is Biblical and helpful. Many of us pray like we are talking to “thin air.” If I try to picture in my mind a loving, caring Lord that wants to talk with me, it makes it easier. Our mind and heart can focus on Him through this image of Him.
1. Is this Biblical? God has used imagery all throughout the Bible. In fact, the Hebrew language is very picturesque.
Here are some Biblical examples:
(a) God told Abraham to look at the stars in the sky and the sand in the desert. Each grain of sand and each star would become faces of his family worldwide.
(b) God told Jacob to view the solid colored cattle through the branches of the trees as they ate, watered and mated. He saw them as “spotted” cattle, not solid in color. All the cows gave birth to spotted calves!
(c) Understanding Biblical “Hope”: Hebrew 11:1. Hope is the picture of what we want or need. In a sense, it is a blue print. Faith then gives substance to what we see on the inside of us.
2. This sounds like some eastern religion thing? First of all, we need to understand that for there to be a counterfeit, there must be something real! There is no such thing as a counterfeit three-dollar bill. Why? Because there is not a real three-dollar bill Satan cannot create anything, he can only counterfeit something that God is doing. Therefore, we must hold on to the real, because God had a purpose for it and throw away the counterfeit. Remember, the only purpose of the counterfeit is for us to take it rather than the real thing!
3. God gave us an imagination. Let’s stop letting the devil use it to get us into sin and allow God to use it to get us into His presence!
Assignment questions:
1. Why is it important to be still before the Lord?
2. How do we come into God’s presence and why?
3. How can we use our imagination in our prayer life?
Mark and Patti Virkler have granted permission to draw this information from
their book, “Communion With God Study Guide”.
You can get more information at their website www.cwgministries.org