Be Still | Psalms 37:7

The book of Psalms is a collection of 150 sacred hymns, poems, prayers and meditations. Through the Psalms, we see an expression of praise, worship, confession and thanksgiving to God from the writers. Although the majority of the Psalms were written by David,  there are many different authors of the Psalms including Solomon and Moses. One of the great things about the book of Psalms is that it shows us what a genuine conversation with God could look like because when we read a lot of the Psalms, we see the authors pouring out the truth from their heart to God. By reading the Psalms, not only do we learn about the importance of praying but we also learn about the importance of being honest with God about our thoughts & feelings. We see the authors go from one side of the spectrum to another. From desperation, pain and despair to celebration, thanksgiving and praise. Studying the Psalms can guide us to a deeper more genuine relationship with God.

In Psalms 37, David contrasts the life of a wicked person with the life of a righteous person. As believers, we should never envy wicked people even when they appear to have popularity and riches. But the reality is, sometimes we do. We see the life of a wicked person and wonder why they appear to have so much prosperity even though they may be rude, mean, selfish, and lie to get themselves to the top. Sometimes we may even look at our own lives and feel like we have been left behind. But in Psalms 37 David is reminding us that as believers, we do not need to become angry or fret about our own lives because God will not forsake us. As long as we are willing to wait on God and keep His righteous way, He will order our steps. All we need to do is be still. 

Being still is a command that is mentioned a handful of times in the Bible and we see it written many times in the Psalms. But what exactly does it mean…? Being still means more than just being physically still. It means;

• Being quiet in God’s presence.
• Refraining from busyness and frantic activity.
• Having our minds focused on God and being fully tuned into Him.
• Putting aside our own efforts to find a solution and looking to God for help instead.

QUIET TIME IS KEY

The Message translations translates Psalms 37:7 to

“Quiet down before God, be prayerful before him.”

Quiet time is a great way for us to be still both physically & mentally. Essentially, quiet time is time that we take to spend time in God’s presence. It’s time that we set aside, ideally in a secluded place without distractions, so that we are able to fully focus on God and devote our time to Him.

Although there are many facets of quiet time, prayer is the most important part of it. Prayer is simply an opportunity for us to converse with God. Through prayer, we have the ability to tell God what’s on our heart and hear what He is saying to us too.

A quote by Wanda E. Brunstetter says;

“if you are too busy to pray, you are busier than God wants you to be”. 

In life it’s very easy for us to become too busy. Especially at the beginning of the year when were attempting to accomplish our new goals and our New Years resolutions. We may even become busy trying to keep up with those around us. But the reality is if we’re too busy to pray, we are not able to hear what God is saying to us.

As believers, we know that God continuously makes a way for us through life. He has a vision and a plan for our lives so He creates a path in order to enable us to take the necessary steps that we need to take to fulfil this vision. But the thing is, God is not going to drag us along that path – He doesn’t force us to take His path. However, as believers, our desire should be to follow the path that God creates for us so that we can fulfil His vision for our lives. The problems is, we cannot always see this path clearly. Sometimes we are ‘walking’ but we don’t actually know which way to go. That’s why, when we make a choice to allow God to direct our paths, we must also take time to pray so that we can hear where God is telling us to go and what He is calling us to do. We need to be able to identify whether He is calling us to wait patiently, move forward or go in the opposite direction.

Life can feel like a maze at times and if we do not take time pray, we cannot be sure of which path God is calling us to take. As a result, we can end up doing things that God never called us to do or rushing ahead of God’s plan for us.

When we take time to be still in His presence through quiet time, we open up the doors of communication with Him allowing us to hear His instruction and direction for our lives. Consequently, it becomes easier for us to know which path to take and it becomes easier for God to lead us along this path. 

Purposeful Activities; 

Recommended verses to read this month – Psalms 25:4, Psalms 46:10, Psalms 62:5, Psalms 85:8, Psalms 131:2 Take some time to be still in God’s presence and journal your thoughts;

• What steps do you feel like God is calling you to make this year?
• Are you disciplined in spending time with God daily?

Struggling to have quiet time and not sure where to start? Click here to download our beginners guide to quiet time.