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HOLY SILENCE
March 1, 2024Be still and know (recognize, understand) that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations! I will be exalted in the earth.
Psalm 46:10 AMP
1. FILL UP WITH THOUGHTS OF GOD. The Bible is from the Middle East, so it is Eastern in its roots. Eastern cultures are often more contemplative. You can read in the book of Joshua that God said to the Hebrew people to meditate on His Word day and night (1:8). Some Eastern meditation practices use the visual of emptying yourself, but biblical meditation is about filling yourself up with the thoughts of God by pondering His goodness and meditating on His Word. It is about more than just quietly thinking about something. It means to put yourself in a state of expectancy before the Lord, keeping receptive for His revelation.
I will this day try to live a simple, sincere, and serene life; repelling promptly every thought of discontent, anxiety, discouragement, impurity and self-seeking; cultivating cheerfulness, magnanimity, charity, and the habit of holy silence; exercising economy in expenditure, carefulness in conversation, diligence in appointed service, fidelity to every trust, and a childlike trust in God. ~John H. Vincent
2. CREATE AN ENVIRONMENT FOR CONTEMPLATION. When I came across this simple prayer almost 30 years ago, it resonated with me, and I became determined to live it, including the habit of holy silence. I was a young parent at the time, and I remember how challenging it was to find a quiet moment. I had remodeled an old farmhouse and built a second bathroom on the downstairs floor. I would shut myself in that room, light a candle, sit on a rug, and pray. Whatever stage of life you are in, ask God to help you develop and maintain the habit of holy silence.
3. SOW TO YOUR SPIRIT MORNING AND EVENING. If you are reading this at the start of your day, I pray it is the best day so far in your life. If it is the end of your day, I pray you have the best night’s sleep you’ve had in the last few days. In either case, the Bible teaches that we should sow to our spirit morning and evening because we don’t know which one will germinate, sprout, and bear the fruit. (Ecclesiastes 11:6; Joshua 1:8; Galatians 6:8). So, do both!
PRAY THIS PRAYER:
God, I exalt you in my life. Help me be still and know, recognize, and understand that You are God. Help me to develop the habit of holy silence as part of my devotion where I am motivated to slip away and be alone with You. Give me the desire to seek You and meditate on Your Word day and night, in Jesus’ Name, amen. (Psalm 46:10; Joshua 1:8; Luke 5:16)
God bless you!
Pastor Jeff Perry
si·lence, noun
A period of being silent: a space of time marked by the cessation or absence of speech or of noises.
Copyright © 2024 St. Louis Family Church, All rights reserved. No part of this article may be reprinted or distributed in any form without prior written permission of St. Louis Family Church. Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are from the New American Standard Bible (NASB) Copyright © 1960, 1962, 1963, 1968, 1971, 1972, 1973, 1975, 1977, 1995, 2020 by The Lockman Foundation. All rights reserved. Scripture quotations marked AMP are taken from the Amplified® Bible, Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation. Used by permission. lockman.org.
Vincent, John Heyl. “My Resolve.” The Epworth Herald, vol. 23, no. 7, 17 Feb. 1912, p. 3. https://www.google.com/books/edition/The_Epworth_Herald/qaZPc-EaRUQC?hl=en&gbpv=1&bsq=my%20resolve. “Silence, N. (1).” Webster’s Third New International Dictionary, C. & G. Merriam CO., 1971, p. 2116.
