Speak, Lord, in the stillness,
While I wait on Thee;
Hushing my heart to listen
In expectancy.
Speak, O blessed Master,
In this quiet hour;
Let me see Your face, Lord,
Feel Your touch of power.
For the words that You speak,
“They are life,” indeed;
Living bread from Heaven,
Now my spirit feed!
Speak, Your servant hears You!
Be not silent, Lord;
My soul does wait
For Your life-giving word!

  Why is it so important in our lives as Christians to be still, and in stillness wait for the word of the Lord?  What is it about stillness, which can sometimes be so boring, especially when you are used to a busy lifestyle, which makes it so needful in our lives?

  In Psalm 46, verse 10, it says, “Be still and know that I am God…” 

     When we abide in stillness, we can hear God’s voice so much easier than if we weren’t being still.  How many times when we were little, or to our younger siblings, has Mom or Dad said, “Be still, I’m talking to you”?  Why did they say that?  Because if we were wiggling and looking around and not paying attention to what was being said, we wouldn’t hear the instruction that we needed.  The same is true about God.  If we are “wiggling and looking around (i.e. distracted and busy)” and not sitting and listening in the stillness, we won’t be able to hear what He has to say to us.  Frederick William Faber said, “Often we do not hear Hi[s voice] because of the noise and distractions caused by the hurried pace of our life.” (from  Streams in the Desert, September 17, page 355)

  I can completely relate to that statement.  I didn’t realize how busy I was until I moved away and my life slowed considerably.  I am thankful that God allowed me to see it!  I was so wrapped up in “the hurried pace” of my life, that I couldn’t hear the Lord’s voice very well—only when He raised His voice.

  The story of Mary and Martha comes to mind here.   No doubt, we have all heard and read it at least a thousand times in our lives.  If you are like me, the impression and message I got from it the first two hundred times J I read it was “Don’t fret over housework too much and sit at Jesus’ feet”, and didn’t give a second thought to it.  I didn’t turn the passage over and over in mind and try to find what God would have me read in this passage of Scripture.  I thought it was self-explanatory and didn’t see the depth of it until just recently.

  Luke 10:40-42 are the scriptures to which I am referring.  In the King James Version, it says “Martha was cumbered about much serving” and Jesus said that she was “careful and troubled about many things…”  The NIV translation says “but Martha was distracted by all the preparations that had to be made.”  In other words, she was trying to put forth a good show—may I suggest that there might have been important people there for supper, and she wanted to give a good impression?  Can you imagine the embarrassment that she must have felt when Jesus rebuked her?

 If you don’t mind, I will list a few of my “Martha Characteristics”.  Martha was wrapped up in activities that she thought were vital and imperative to her walk in life.  I too was (am) the same way.  Being constantly involved in activities at church and other places left me drained and unsatisfied. (Please don’t get me wrong, I am not saying that extra, fun activities are wrong, especially church activities, but what I am saying is that too many can distract us and cause us to lose sight of where we need to be.)  And I thought that it was God’s will for me! I didn’t realize that where He wanted me was right under my nose.  I was so busy I couldn’t hear God’s voice; I was “cumbered about much serving”, and “distracted by all the preparations”.  I was so occupied by what I thought was needed that I failed to see the importance and need to be still and sit at Jesus’ feet.

  This little passage in Scripture, only five verses long, holds such an important message for we who live in such busy days.   In the stillness, at Jesus’ feet, is where we gain our needed direction for our lives. 

  It is a proven fact that you act like the people you are around the most.  So, if we are with God a lot we become more like Him.  Dr. Pardington said, “The amount of time spent before Him is…critical, for our hearts are like a photographer’s film—the longer exposed, the deeper the impression.” (from Streams in the Desert, September 17, page355)  That is such and awesome and true statement!

   But why is stillness so important?  Because when you are still in the presence of God, you draw strength and peace from Him.  And with that strength and peace, you are able to live another day and serve Him.

  Okay, what if you are busy in your home, helping with housework and younger siblings, and you barely have time to read a chapter or two in your Bible a day and there is always something that distracts you while you are trying to?  That was a problem I faced.  How could I make time to sit in stillness and wait on the Lord?  I started looking over my days, seeing if there was a time in the day when I was doing something, but it didn’t demand my full attention.  Then it came to me, when I wash clothes!

  Where we are now, there is a wash house that we take the clothes out to.  It is a small room on the back of Nancy’s house where the washer is. (Note: because of the amazing system here, you have to put rinse water in the washer with a water hose).  The times when I am waiting for the washer to fill up with water, is when I “sit in stillness”.  I am alone and in a place hidden from view, and that’s where I pray.  (We do a load or two of laundry every day.)  Since I have started having that place as my “still place”, I haven’t minded doing the laundry as muchJ.  Also, when I am hanging the clothes on the line sometimes I pray there. 

  Once I stopped and looked for them, times during the day when I could be alone with God started popping up all over the place!  You know, it says in the Bible, “seek and you shall find”, and I did!

Return to Articles Index

Previously featured in the October 2005 issue of  Stepping Heavenward Newsletter. (c) October 2005 With all of Thy Heart E-zine