Be still is the habit of withdrawing to be alone and getting quiet with God. It is the spiritual disciplines of solitude and silence.
Jesus set us the example during His time on earth. In Scripture, we see Jesus in crowded places where He taught and healed. On the other hand, He also took time to retreat to be alone in prayer.
- Matthew 14:23 (NIV) “After he had dismissed them, he went up on a mountainside by himself to pray. Later that night, he was there alone.”
- Mark 1:35 (NIV) “Very early in the morning, while it was still dark, Jesus got up, left the house and went off to a solitary place, where he prayed.”
- Luke 5:16 (AMP) “But Jesus Himself would often slip away to the wilderness and pray [in seclusion].”
The importance of becoming still before God
Current society does not encourage ‘unproductive time’. We are busy and we are in a hurry. The world around us is filled with noise. In fact, most people don’t know how to live with silence. People turn on the TV as soon as they get home. When driving, they turn on the radio or listen to podcasts. When they jog or gym, they take a cell phone along.
All of humanity’s problems stem from man’s inability to sit quietly in a room alone.
Blaise Pascal (1623-1662)
If we want to experience true intimacy with God, we have to learn to quiet the bustle and enter His stillness. Stillness in fellowship with God is more than just being quiet and refraining from activity. God uses silence and solitude to speak to us, restore us, and guide us. Moses, Elijah and Paul were all transformed in times of solitude with God. Silence and solitude clear the hustle and bustle of life from our mind for wise decision making and planning. It also helps us with other spiritual disciplines, such as prayer and meditation on God’s Word.
Jesus was busy, but He was never in a hurry and always at peace. Silence and solitude were Jesus’ place of strength. For example. before He began His public ministry, He spent 40 days in silence and solitude. (Luke 4), before He chose the 12 disciples, Jesus spent the night praying to God (Luke 6), before He offered up His life for our salvation, He spent time alone with His Father (Matthew 26), and He often withdrew to lonely places to pray (Luke 5).
So how do we practice Christlike silence and solitude?
Intimacy with God
We may not even be willing to acknowledge it, nevertheless, our desire for God, the need for our human soul to connect with God, is the essence of who we are. Man’s heart has a desperate longing to experience God’s presence. We all hunger for God to satisfy the deep empty spaces of our soul, to enter more deeply into the intimacy of our relationship with God.
In the Judean wilderness, David cried out, Psalm 63:1 (NLT) “O God, you are my God; I earnestly search for you. My soul thirsts for you; my whole body longs for you in this parched and weary land where there is no water.” Psalm 42:1-2 (TPT) “I long to drink of you, O God, drinking deeply from the streams of pleasure flowing from your presence. My longings overwhelm me for more of you! My soul thirsts, pants, and longs for the living God. I want to come and see the face of God.”
But there is an even greater truth, even before we desired God, God desired us. 1 John 4:19 (NIV) “We love because he first loved us.”
We need never shout across the spaces to an absent God. He is nearer than our own soul, closer than our most secret thoughts.
A.W. Tozer (1897-1963)
Be still
Be still in the original Hebrew is “raphah”, meaning let go or stop striving. Psalm 46 starts and finishes with “God is our refuge”. We can take comfort in letting go and resting in God to provide help, strength and safety. 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 is an invitation from our Father to come and rest in his presence. ‘Be still my child while I transform your heart and mind. Let go of your cares and worries so that you can receive my peace. Stop striving and know that I am God.’ There is something about being invited that fills the human heart with joy. It says someone is seeking me out, desiring my presence enough to invite me over.
Letting go, to stop striving or surrendering control is not an easy invitation to accept. Have you ever tried to embrace someone with your arms full of packages? Awkward. It is not going to work. The packages get in the way. You need to first let go of them. The same is true when we want to enter into God’s presence and the loving embrace of our Father. When we hold lots of things – our concerns, cares, responsibilities, fears, or uncertainties – we will not be able to do it. We need to surrender them.
The spiritual disciplines of solitude and silence
Think of a jar of muddy water – all shaken up and murky. Letting it sit still long enough, the dirt settles to the bottom and the water becomes clear. When we take time and become still in God’s presence, the murk that swirls in or souls begin to settle. In silence and solitude, we withdraw from the demands of life and allow all the noise of our thoughts to settle down so that we can hear God more clearly.
In silence and solitude, we in turn say to God ‘Here I am’. It quiets the noise of our lives, frees us from preoccupations, giving God our undivided attention. Psalm 62:5 (AMPC) “My soul, wait only upon God and silently submit to Him; for my hope and expectation are from Him.”
It breaks the power of hurry – our addiction to a ‘have-to-do-this’ mentality. It interrupts the cycle of constantly having to manage things and be in control. It releases us from a sense of being indispensable. Psalm 131:1-2 (AMPC) “Lord, my heart is not haughty, nor my eyes lofty; neither do I exercise myself in matters too great or in things too wonderful for me. Surely, I have calmed and quieted my soul; like a weaned child with his mother, like a weaned child is my soul within me [ceased from fretting].”
Silence
Silence can make us uncomfortable. Because in silence we get confronted by all our issues.
Silence is frightening because it strips us as nothing else does, throwing us upon the stark realities of our life.
Dallas Willard (1935-2013)
When we practice silence, we lay down our weapons of words. It reminds us that we don’t need to say as much as we think we do. We find that God can manage situations just fine without our opinions on the subject. Ecclesiastes 5:2 (AMPC) “Be not rash with your mouth, and let not your heart be hasty to utter a word before God. For God is in heaven, and you are on earth; therefore, let your words be few.”
It is in silence that we release our own agenda and create space for God. In Habakkuk 2:1 (GW) Habakkuk waits for the Lord’s answer: “I will stand at my guard post. I will station myself on the wall. I will watch to see what he will say to me and what answer I will get to my complaint.”
Let us be silent that we may hear the whisper of God.
Ralph Waldo Emerson (1803-1882)
Elijah saw a storm, and then wind, and then an earthquake, and then fire. Yet, God was not in any of these. Rather, God spoke in a gentle whisper. 1 Kings 19:11-13 (AMPC) “And He said, go out and stand on the mount before the Lord. And behold, the Lord passed by, and a great and strong wind rent the mountains and broke in pieces the rocks before the Lord, but the Lord was not in the wind; and after the wind an earthquake, but the Lord was not in the earthquake; and after the earthquake a fire, but the Lord was not in the fire; and after the fire [a sound of gentle stillness and] a still, small voice. When Elijah heard the voice, he wrapped his face in his mantle and went out and stood in the entrance of the cave. And behold, there came a voice to him and said, what are you doing here, Elijah?”
Solitude
You cannot develop intimacy without solitude. Solitude is not isolation. It is carving out space and time for resting alone in God presence. To enjoy His company and allowing the intimacy to deepen. It means to intentionally focus on our relationship with God. Solitude is a time of reflection. Thinking how God revealed Himself in the small or mundane activities of our day. Inviting God to talk to us. Asking the Holy Spirit to reveal things to us.
Solitude with God repairs the damage done by the fret and noise and clamour of the world.
Oswald Chambers (1874-1917)
Everyone needs some amount of solitude and silence. Still, depending on our personality, the practice of it in our daily life will look different.
Solitude doesn’t necessary mean to sit down somewhere just being quiet. You can also enter into solitude with God while being active. For example, walk, jog, or ride a bike. When your body switch into autopilot mode and you can use the activity to distance yourself from other people or distractions to focus on God, why not? Physical activity can assist with managing the distractions that prevents us from focusing.
People say: ‘I fall asleep trying to pray, I try but I cannot concentrate on the Scripture I am reading. I get distracted by thoughts popping into my head. I continuously fail at this.’ Don’t feel guilty if your mind wanders or when you realize your thoughts drifted, just refocus. Resume. Just be available to hear God’s voice.
Find your place and make time for silence and solitude
Susanna Wesley had nine children and a small home. Her famous sons John and Charles Wesley remembered that to practice solitude, she would sit and throw her apron over her head. Her children knew she was now spending time with God and to leave her alone.
If it helps, start your time of solitude with a time to rest first. When Elijah entered into solitude in the wilderness, he was deep-down-to-the-bone tired (1 Kings 19). He fell asleep under a tree and God let him sleep. Then God woke him up, fed him and let him sleep again, and again. Elijah’s story illustrates we cannot separate the physical body from the spiritual. We need to take care of our physical body. Mornings after night rest are great for solitude time. After Elijah was fortified by rest and food, God took him deeper into the wilderness on his journey to Mt Horeb, historically the place where God met the people of Israel. Entering into God’s presence can be a journey. Elijah travelled 40 days and 40 nights before his encounter with God at Mt Horeb.
Solitude and silence are inner conditions rather than external experiences.
For example, find time for solitude and silence during your commute to work. Instead of listening to music, radio, podcast or recorded books, travel in silence. At home, sit in a favourite spot, keep an open Bible on your lap to help you focus and have His Word speak to you. Go for that walk, jog or bike ride.
In solitude and silence, we learn to stop. To stop doing, stop striving, stop producing, stop pleasing people, stop entertaining ourself, stop obsessing, stop worrying, stop. Stop doing anything, except to simply be before God and be found by Him.
Prayer: Dear Father, help me be still more often, practicing the spiritual disciplines of solitude and silence regularly. May it become a habit for me. Let the fruit of silence and solitude reflect in my life. When I become overwhelmed by responsibilities, demands, busyness and fear, please remind me to retreat into solitude with You. Help me to let go of all the things and step into Your loving arms so I can listen in silence to what You have on Your heart for me. I want to find rest in Your presence. In Jesus name, Amen.
