How to Find Stillness

Most believers can quote, “Be still and know that I am God” (Ps. 46:10), but what this verse is really saying is that until we know stillness, we don’t know God. Not only that, but if stillness is where we know that He is God then without stillness, we can easily start thinking we are.

Of course none of us would ever say that, but the average person has so much mental traffic, they live as if they’re all on their own, living as if they’re solely responsible for everything. Living without the God factor in their lives. Way too many people go through life without the awareness that He is God.

Most people’s minds are so busy they don’t even know where to begin to find stillness. Most think that finding a peaceful place can help: a vacation, a beach, or out somewhere in nature. Of course it can help to change our external environment. This does sometimes help to change your internal environment: external peace can help bring internal peace.

But what happens when you can’t get that escape? You are fresh from vacation and won’t get another one for a year? What about at work, or in traffic, or when you’re surrounded by chaos? How can you quiet your internal dialogue to experience God?

Zephaniah 3:17 says, “The Lord your God is in your midst. The Mighty One will save; He will rejoice over you with gladness. He will quiet you with his love.” When we aren’t still, the problem isn’t unfamiliarity with stillness, it’s an unawareness of His love which brings us there.

So how do live aware of His love? Jude 1:20 says, “But you, beloved, building yourselves up in the most holy faith, praying in the Holy Spirit. Keep yourselves in the love of God.”

I’ve heard many messages on praying in the Spirit, most of which focus on us “building ourselves up in our most holy faith”, but never have I heard one on keeping ourselves in the love of God. When we focus only on the faith side of praying in the Spirit, we can run into a problem, since faith works through love (Gal 5:6). If faith works through love, and love quiets us, then faith also works through stillness.

It’s His promise to come and quiet us! It’s not all up to us to become quiet. From now on, whenever you pray in the Spirit, anticipate Him bringing you into quietness and stillness.

Expect the chatter to stop.

Expect the noise to go quiet.

Expect to hear Him speak to you.

Expect to encounter Him, and when you do, you’ll find so much relief that He is God, and you aren’t!