Prayin' Time

Psalm 46:10 

"Be still, and know that I am God"

Wonderland, Acadia, NP

In these trying times there is much noise around us. There is noise from armed protesters, school shootings, and the desecration of Jewish synagogues and Muslim mosques. There is the noise of people being in food lines for the first time. There are the disturbing cries from the weak being abused  and the vulnerable being neglected. There is alarming noise from violent protesters and deeply unsettling scenes of destruction.

It makes me feel like Elijah hiding in a cave as God passes by in wind, fire and earthquake. It makes me ask, What's coming next? Will it be some sort of social upheaval? Will it be a further fracturing of our world? Will it be a new source of fear?

So I turn to God in prayer. I ask God to feed the hungry, clothe the naked, and heal the sick. I ask God to bring peace in our troubled times. I ask God to "Let justice roll down like waters and righteousness like an everflowing stream" (Amos 5:24).

I ask.

God says, "Be still and know that I am God."

To "Be still and know that I am God." seems nearly impossible in the midst of all this noise. How in our prayin' time do we find stillness and listen for God?

One way of finding stillness in our prayin' time is to meditate daily.  It is to set aside any invasive noise of worry or fear. Let anxiety float away in the "river whose streams make glad the city of God." It is this time of stillness that helps regain ones confidence in the strength of God.

Then, after this time of stillness, we are strengthened to move back into the world and do what we can to still the noise of worry, fear and anxiety in others.

It's prayin" time. Be still and listen for God's voice in these trying times.