Stillness Devotion
Over the summer, CSF studied prayer — different ways to pray as well as different things we should bring to the Lord in prayer. I led two of the devotions; this is the first.
Stillness
7/12/2022
Chat about being still. Chat about peace.
Explain stillness exercise.
7 minutes of stillness. [give 10 minutes total]
Debrief.
The world doesn’t really set itself up for stillness. We’re expected to be on the move all the time. Work hard. Have a side hustle. Be super social. Be the most productive, the most efficient, the most accomplished. We can easily fall into that mindset, but that is not what God calls us to. He calls us to work as if working for the Lord, yes, to do our best, but He also calls us to rest, like we talked about last week.
I have a hard time resting, so as I’ve been pursuing it, I’ve learned a lot about it. I won’t get into everything, but one thing I wanted to share first was the beginning. God created the world in 6 days. He created man last, on the 6th day. Then the 7th day, we know, God rested. The first day that man had on earth with God was one of rest. They didn’t have to do anything on their first day. They didn’t have to earn rest, they didn’t have to finish all their work first—they just rested.
Our outside circumstances don’t determine our inner state of being. Our inner peace, if you will. What we’ve done or haven’t done doesn’t dictate whether we rest, whether we are still.
Stillness is the place of divine presence. It’s the place where God calls us back to time and time again. It’s peace.
‘Be still and Know that I am God’ the Psalmist tells us in Psalm 46.
I think that sometimes we need to literally be still. To not move our bodies so that our inner world can be still as well. “In the inner stillness where meditation leads, the Spirit secretly anoints the soul and heals our deepest wounds.” —John of the Cross.
So we’re going to try it. I’m going to set a timer for 7 or so minutes, and I want you to find a place in the house to sit or lay comfortably. If you decide to sit in a chair, keep your feet flat on the floor. And I want you to start by focusing on your breathing and on your body, and intentionally relax all the tension out of yourself. Then I want you to meditate on Mark 4:39, specifically “Peace, be still.” Allow God to still your inner world. Let Him wash away whatever worries you have, whatever to do’s you’re thinking about. Just focus on Him.
You will get distracted, and that’s okay. Don’t get upset at yourself. Just allow the thought to pass and refocus on “Peace, be still.” When the timer goes off, gently bring yourself back to more alert wakefulness, and when you’re ready, come back to the table. Then we’ll discuss.
READ: Mark 4:39 He woke up and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace! Be still!” Then the wind ceased, and there was a dead calm.
[Meditation]
How was it? Thoughts, reactions, anything you want to talk about? Did you like it?
What keeps you from being still before the Lord in your daily life? Why is it so hard to be still?
What are other ways of practicing stillness? It doesn't have to be physically being still with your eyes closed all the time.
Do you trust God to still your inner spirit? What are some ways that you act or think that make it seem like you don’t? [e.g., I worry about x, y, z… and leave it at the Lord’s feet].
Where do you find peace?
