The phrase “be still” appears numerous times throughout scripture. Perhaps the most well-known is Psalm 46, where the psalmist reflects on the might and majesty of the Lord our God, who is our refuge and strength and who fights our battles, for we belong to him. As the Lord God says to his people,
“Be still, and know that I am God; I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth.”
The original Hebrew used in this verse for still is rapa, meaning to hang limp, to sink, to be feeble or weak, or to be lazy or falter. What God is saying here to his people is that we can rest in all our human frailty, for he doesn’t need us to achieve success. He is the “Great I Am,” and he will prevail. We can rest easy knowing God has all the problems of the world under his control. Another verse urging “be still” comes in Psalm 37:7, where the psalmist urges us,
“Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; do not fret when people succeed in their ways, when they carry out their wicked schemes.”
Here, the original Hebrew is damam, meaning to stand still, to be silent and quiet, to rest, or to cease. The implication here is we can settle down, stop fussing, and simply wait patiently for God to act.
Another “be still” comes in Exodus 14:14, when the Israelites are desperately afraid of the Egyptians chasing after them. Stand firm, Moses says here, explaining, “The Lord will fight for you; you need only to be still.” This original Hebrew word for “be still” is hares, meaning to be quiet or silent, to become deaf, or to make no move. Freeze, Moses is saying. Don’t say or do anything. God is leading this battle.
In the New Testament, we also find “be still.” For instance, in Mark 4:39 when the disciples are terrified after a storm arises on the lake, Jesus commands the wind and waves, “‘Quiet! Be still!’ Then the wind died down and it was completely calm.” This “be still” in the original Greek is phimoo, meaning to muzzle or to silence, to quiet or to be quiet.
Whether stillness means immovability or weakness or literal silence with the absence of words, it’s a powerful concept implying ultimate, complete surrender. Instead of rushing to and fro of our own accord, we are still, silent, waiting on the Lord, utterly depending in faith upon his love and care. Being still was important for the early Israelites and Christians to practice, and it is important for us today. Here, let’s take a look at ten ways to “be still” and surrender to the Lord in our daily lives.
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1. Schedule Quiet Time
Our world often feels like an express lane you can’t escape. Everything is fast—do this now! Buy now! Decide now! Go! Win! Slay!
But as followers of Jesus, we don’t belong to this world, even if the world tries to claim us. One of the easiest and best ways to rebel against the trappings of the world is to intentionally eliminate one of the biggest sensory snags to a strong relationship with the Lord: noise.
Turning off all the noise to go be alone in quiet solitude is the first, best, and likely easiest step we can make toward learning to be still.
While you can have quiet time at any time of the day, behavior experts say repeatedly that the best way to create a habit is to make a plan to do it—and then do it first. If you procrastinate all day with the best intentions, you’ll have quiet time at bedtime or during your lunch hour, but something else will invariably get in the way, whether sheer exhaustion or an appointment.
So wake up a little earlier than normal and set aside that time as your “quiet time” with God. As far as how much time you have, do what you can, even if it’s just five or ten minutes at first. After you become accustomed to the new routine, you can always add another five or ten minutes until you settle on just the right amount for your soul and your current lifestyle.
Having a designated place for this quiet time is also important. This is time with God. Try to make it as special and as intentional as possible.
I look at quiet time as a tithe. We’re supposed to tithe our money and our service to the Lord. We can also tithe our time. And just like the Bible tells us to tithe the “first fruits” of our crop (Leviticus 23:9-14) or the first ten percent of our income, quiet time first thing at the very start of your day is a form of tithing our time.
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2. Read God's Word
Another excellent way to “be still” in this often chaotic world is to read God’s word—every single day. Yes, sometimes the Bible can be difficult to understand. There are a bunch of great, accurate Bible translations that are in “common,” everyday language that can make this far easier.
God’s word is a gift he gave to us to help us. Once we commit to quiet time, the next step is to make sure we are hearing God speak into our hearts. And we can’t rely on a pastor or some other individual to interpret God’s word for us. We need to dive in and use the tool God himself gave us. Jesus is our role model, and Jesus knows Scripture. We should, too.
You don’t need to have a lofty goal when it comes to reading the Bible. You don’t need to read the Bible in a year, and then, voila, you’re done forever. God’s word is active and powerful, and it’s something we should read daily. You can read a paragraph or a chapter. Some people set a timer and read as much as they can for ten minutes before starting their day, then make a little pencil mark so they know where to pick up tomorrow. You can also use a Bible app and read the Bible on your cell phone, computer, or tablet. If reading is difficult for you, many Bible apps have a free feature that reads the Bible aloud to you.
As with quiet time, this is something most effective when done at the start of the day. I look at it both as a tithe of my time, as well as a way to habitually ensure I get my daily reading practice done.
When we read the Bible daily, it helps us be still because it replaces the dizzying pace of the world with the truths of the Lord. It drowns out the voices of the world and the false messages we hear with the peace that only God can bring.
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3. Pray
Maybe you’re someone who prefers to fold your hands and say an elaborate prayer while kneeling at bedtime, or you pray regularly with your spouse or another prayer partner. There’s no need to stop that—all prayer is good! Indeed, the Bible tells us to pray without ceasing, making prayer a nonstop part of our lives (1 Thessalonians 5:17).
But along with quiet time and reading God’s word, there is a third critical component to spiritual centeredness: designated prayer time. Incorporating prayer time along with quiet time and Bible reading is an excellent practice in stilling our souls.
Prayer isn’t just a list of requests we present to the Lord but a conversation where we both talk to and listen to God. Making quiet time, reading God’s word, and praying in authentic conversation with God helps you process the time you’ve had and the reading you’ve done, as well as enables you to deepen your relationship with your heavenly Father. It helps you reflect and absorb on a different level.
Morning prayers are important because they help us practice patience and bask in God’s presence, ultimately learning better to be still before the Lord.
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4. Meditate
Meditation is a practice where a person trains their body and mind to relax and empty of stressors and distractions. We detach from outside stimuli, whether external noise or the swirl of thoughts inside our minds, and allow ourself to rest and ultimately achieve a clear, clam, tranquil, and stable state.
When we do this, we become fully in touch with our soul and connect on a deeper emotional, spiritual, and physical level with God. It’s the ultimate act of surrender to let everything else go for a time and simply focus on nothing else except your breath, your heartbeat, and your Creator.
Many people think meditation sounds boring, or they fear it, thinking it’s “weird.” Perhaps they think they’ll just fall asleep, making the practice a colossal waste of time. But learning how to meditate doesn’t happen instantly. It’s a practice, and those who meditate get better with time and consistency. It can be an excellent way to be still with the Lord.
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5. Bask in Nature
Basking in nature is another great way to be still in the presence of the Lord, celebrating with peace and joy all that God has created. Isaiah 55:12 talks about how the mountains and hills will “burst into song” before God, and the trees will clap their hands. Psalm 148 is filled with the ways the sun and the moon, the sea creatures, and the stormy winds all praise God’s holy and perfect name. We, too, are meant to join in that beautiful and triumphant celebration, rejoicing at all the ways God’s majestic and righteous love and goodness come together in his creation.
When we take time to rest, revel, and simply enjoy the natural world, we are honoring our Lord and surrendering to the peace God offers. Regardless of what’s going on in our lives, nature goes on all around us. The birds build their nests and the rain falls. The squirrels gather nuts and the world turns … again and again and again.
Basking in nature helps us remember that we are not the center of the world, nor are we the purpose. It helps us remember that God is sovereign and he created all.
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6. Fasting
Fasting is something we hear about a lot in the Bible. In fact, it’s mentioned roughly 70 times throughout scripture. People did it for a variety of reasons, from grief and repentance to a means to draw closer to the Lord. Moses fasted when he received the Ten Commandments from God (Exodus 34:28), and a number of the prophets fasted to humble themselves before the Lord and receive understanding about things they did not comprehend. Jesus fasted in the wilderness before his temptation (Matthew 4:1-2).
Today, we commonly hear about people fasting only when it comes to nutritional reasons, such as weight loss, controlling blood sugar, or improving cardiovascular health. But many people fast today for spiritual reasons, just as people did during the days of the Bible. They fast to draw closer to God, to express grief or penitence, and even to seek deliverance.
Fasting is not for everyone, but fasting might be a good help in surrendering to the Lord and learning new ways to lean on God rather than on the comforts of the flesh. By denying the physical, they cultivate new strength in the spiritual. After all, as Jesus told Satan in the wilderness, “It is written: ‘Man shall not live on bread alone, but on every word that comes from the mouth of God’” (Matthew 4:4).
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7. Cultivate Gratitude
Part of our command to “be still” is about accepting where we are right now in life. Our life on earth is not meant to be perfect, and troubles come even to the most godly people. Jesus told us that we should expect trouble in this world, but we should take heart, as he has overcome the world (John 16:33). That’s what God is saying throughout the Old Testament, too—be still and know. Be still and wait patiently. Be still and trust that God will handle this.
When we can look at our present circumstances and see hope, blessings, and joy even in difficult times, our hearts can be filled with the peace that surpasses all understanding, the peace Paul talked about in Philippians 4:7. That hope, and joy are often a result of gratitude and appreciation, a result of our choosing to see the gifts of today and not the difficulties. The more we cultivate gratitude, the more we can “be still” in the Lord.
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8. Repent
Sometimes, we cringe when we consider the sins of our past. We feel shame and remorse, and we push those memories away in an effort to move on and put distance between our old ways and our new, Jesus-led ways. But sometimes, in doing so, we expend so much effort running from or masking shame that we never learn to fully deal with or acknowledge the wrongs we have done. That creates tension between us and God—noise in the blissful silence that is God’s peace.
That’s why repentance can be another way to “be still” in the Lord. See, repentance involves acknowledging the wrong we did and then turning around to intentionally walk a new path—God’s path. When we acknowledge our wrongdoings, we surrender to God and the mercy only he can give. When we turn and walk the new way, we again surrender, affirming that God is our leader and our king. That surrender is an act of faith, belief, and peace, quieting the voices of condemnation within us to make room for God’s loving truth.
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9. Forgive
Similarly, forgiveness is another way to “be still.” Many of us hold onto old grudges and deep anger about wrongs done to us, especially when we were the innocent victim in a situation. Yet we fail to understand that remembering this evil and letting it have power over us, even if it’s “only” negative feelings toward the person who harmed us, builds a wall between us and God. God knows forgiveness is good for us, and he commands us to forgive others as we are forgiven (Matthew 6:14-15).
Holding onto grudges and unforgiveness is an act of arrogance. It’s an effort, even unconsciously, to usurp power from the only one who has the power and authority to condemn: our Heavenly Father. There is freedom in letting go of anger and pain. There is freedom in forgiveness. And the freedom that comes along with this is another way to “be still” in the Lord.
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10. Ask the Holy Spirit to Help
Finally, although it seems incredibly simple, there is another way we can be still in the Lord: We can ask the Holy Spirit for help. Sometimes, we forget the Holy Spirit lives inside of us. Yet that’s an amazing and miraculous truth—we, mere humans, have part of God living inside our hearts simply because we believe in Jesus Christ.
Apart from God, we can do little to nothing. But with God, we can do all things (Philippians 4:13). And we can trust the Holy Spirit, who wants us to surrender to the Lord and make the Lord king of our lives, will help us quiet the noise in our minds and our hearts. Many of us struggle with mental illness that makes shutting out the “noise” incredibly difficult. But we can trust that God can do anything God wishes. After all, God made the world and everything in it. And God can quiet the noise and enable us to be still. He can, and he will. All we need to do is ask.
These are just some of the ways we can work toward being still in the Lord. And rest assured—when we still ourselves and surrender, the peace we receive is better than any earthly control we can imagine.
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Originally published Tuesday, 13 August 2024.