11/27/22 Family Devotional

What I wanted to talk about…

Matthew 1:21 KJV 1900

And she shall bring forth a son, and thou shalt call his name JESUS: for he shall save his people from their sins.

But, the Lord gave me a gift this morning in my time with him that I want to share.

My story…

Led back to Christ in 2014.

Immediately had a desire to be in the Bible.

Learned to pray in 2020.

This is my favorite topic to talk about.

I have read more on this topic than any other.

My walk with God was always equated with these two habits.

However, I have been reading a book this week that has changed that. Our communion with God isn’t less than prayer and bible meditation, but it is more than.

The gift God gave me this morning was this… When I read this psalm, the Lord gave me about 1 minute of silence.

Psalm 131:2–3 KJV 1900

Surely I have behaved and quieted myself, As a child that is weaned of his mother: My soul is even as a weaned child. Let Israel hope in the Lord From henceforth and for ever.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 101–150 Learn to Hush before God (131:2)

Richard Foster writes, “In contemporary society our Adversary majors in three things: noise, hurry, and crowds” (Celebration, 15). So then, we should pay close attention to verse 2, as David talks about being quiet and calm before the Lord.

Exalting Jesus in Psalms 101–150 Learn to Hush before God (131:2)

We should have a simple, dependent, confident trust in the Father, in whose presence we find all we need. So let us learn to be still before him (Ps 46:10).

One of the reasons we experience contentment through silence before God is because, like a child, we experience the love of the Father. As believers, we don’t have to run around competing with others and promoting ourselves. We have already been accepted through Jesus Christ. The Father loves us with an everlasting love. So let’s stop and be quiet and receive his love in the quiet places.

Derek Kidner said this…

Psalms 73–150: An Introduction and Commentary Psalm 131. The Childlike Spirit

whereas the psalm emphasizes the word ‘weaned’, thereby drawing an analogy between the child which no longer frets for what it used to find indispensable, and the soul which has learnt a comparable lesson.

The idea is calming yourself and silently trusting in the Lord. No talking. Not praying. Not reading the Bible. No thinking about work, kids, problems, solutions, what needs to be done, what needs to be sent, what needs to be fixed, what bill needs to be payed, what needs to be scheduled, what task needs to be completed.

There is something about just quietly resting in the presence of the Lord.

Psalm 46:10 KJV 1900

Be still, and know that I am God: I will be exalted among the heathen, I will be exalted in the earth.

Be still literally means to stop. Stop and just let yourself be in His presence.

So why do I bring this up?

Because we don’t do this well. We can read our Bibles, it’s something that we can accomplish. We can pray. We like talking, we like sharing our burdens. We like asking for things. But to be silent, and just sit without distraction before God with no other motive but to enjoy His presence is far different.

We don’t know how to be silent because we are constantly entertained.

I want to recommend you this practice - silence and solitude. Learn to get alone before God and sit with Him without having to even say a word. Realize that the reality of His presence in your life is deeper than prayer and bible intake.

How to start?

Start with 2 minutes a day and work your way up. Again… no phone, nothing to distract you. Nothing.