Psalm 46:10 says, “Be still and know that I am God.” There’s a clear correlation between being still and knowing God. In your quest for greater intimacy with Him, stillness matters. But what it means to “be still” may be more than what you think. Let’s take a closer look at this verse.
The Hebrew word for “be still” (raphah) comes from a root word that means to relax, cease, let go, or fall limp. Raphah is an action verb. It’s a paradox, but to be still you must do something! You must stop striving, calm down, and loosen your hold on everything that troubles you. Most of us think that to be still with God, we just need to grab a Bible and sit down somewhere. That’s a good start, but it will only take you halfway toward intimacy.
The recipe for intimacy
To put it another way, the recipe for intimacy with God has two ingredients: First, you must get your body quiet. Second, you must settle your soul (mind, will, and emotions). You do this by acknowledging that “God’s got this! He’s got me! He’s got everything under control!” I like Psalm 46:10 in the Amplified Bible: “Let go [of your concerns]! Then you will know that I am God. I rule the nations. I rule the earth.”
I can almost hear someone say, “But doesn’t the Bible tell us to cast our cares upon Him?” And isn’t that what I’m supposed to do when I spend time with God? Yes! Psalm 55:22 says exactly that. “Cast your burden on the LORD, And He shall sustain you; He shall never permit the righteous to be moved.” But the word for cast here has the same sort of meaning as the word for be still. It means to throw out, throw down, or throw away your cares. What it doesn’t mean is to dwell on, talk about, or stress over them.
What I’m getting at here my friends, is that if you want intimacy with God, don’t make your quiet time all about your circumstances, anxieties, and fears. If you do, there will be no room left to sense His nearness, glimpse His majesty, or feel His all-encompassing care.
Make it about Him
If you want to know God in a deeper way, spend the best of your quiet time asking Him to reveal more of Himself to you. Ask Him to reveal His love, His wisdom, or His sense of humor to you. (Yes! He has a sense of humor.) Ask Him to give you a song about Him. Ask Him questions (He is the great Teacher after all) or let Him ask you questions (you’ll learn a lot about His personality this way). Whatever you do, make your quiet time with Him about Him.
This is the path toward intimacy with God.
Peace comes not from the absence of trouble, but from the presence of God.
Alexander MacLaren
Seek and deeply long for the LORD and His strength [His power, His might]; Seek and deeply long for His face and His presence continually.
Psalm 105:4**
*Amplified Bible Copyright © 2015 by The Lockman Foundation
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