You may find it helpful to read the post Intro to Stillness and Rest before doing this activity for the first time.
Stillness before God flows from the restful confidence that he is our Almighty King as well as our present and loving Father. This activity gives a concrete opportunity to foster and practice stillness before God. It can be very helpful as a transition activity at the beginning, middle, or end of extended time with God. It can also be used as a brief rest or reset in the course of a day. I personally find this activity to be a meaningful act of restful worship after a time of meditating on Scripture.
Find a place that is restful, where you can be free from distraction for 5 to 10 minutes. This activity can be done inside or outside, sitting or walking.
Father, please help my eyes, mind, heart, and all of me to be fixed on you. You are my rock, you are my fortress, you are my salvation, my only hope. Let these solid realities quiet my busy heart and mind. I long to see you more clearly and rest in you more fully. Rest and peace are gifts from you and the fruit of your Spirit. Please enable me to lay down anxieties and distractions and to quickly return to you as often as my heart strays.
1. Set your heart on God. After committing your time to the Lord, begin by reading one of the following passages:
Psalm 62:1-2
Psalm 46:10
Psalm 62:5-8
Isaiah 30:15
Matthew 11:28-30
Take a moment (1 to 2 minutes) to dwell on the realities and promise of the passage you chose.
2. Be still. Take several minutes (try 5 minutes the first time) to simply rest in the reality of your good and mighty Father. Our goal is not to meditate on a passage, or to pray, but simply to be quiet and still before the Lord, resting in him. We are not trying to produce some spiritual experience or really to achieve anything. We are simply being silent before the Lord, resting in the truth that God is God and God is good.
3. Close in prayer. After several minutes of stillness close your time with a brief prayer to God.
Practical tips:
- You may find it helpful to set a timer for part 2, the “Be Still” portion of the activity. Think of this not so much as “I need to gut it out for 5 minutes,” but rather “let me set aside 5 minutes for uninterrupted rest.” Use a timer with a gentle alarm sound. Start with 5 minutes the first time you attempt this activity. After that, feel free to increase the amount of time, if helpful.
- Knowing yourself is very important in this activity. You may find some locations or postures (sitting versus walking) more distracting or difficult than others. If you already know that silence is painfully difficult for you, perhaps try this activity walking and limit part 2, the “Be Still” portion, to only a couple minutes the first time you do it.
- Don’t be stressed if this activity is hard for you. Some personalities struggle with silence much more than others. For some, we are so used to busyness that it takes a great deal of practice to foster a quiet heart before God. If you find yourself easily wandering or distracted, gently return your heart to resting in the Lord. Remember, our rest and our stillness does not come from strength of discipline, but from the foundational reality that God is King over all and that he is radically good. Beating yourself up for distractions or trying to “rest” by sheer power of will are both counterproductive. Turn your heart quietly back to the Lord, and let your rest increasingly come from who he is, not from what you bring to the table.
- For some, it may be helpful to have a pad of paper or sticky note on hand to briefly jot down distractions that come to mind. If your mind keeps wandering to “I need to remember to change the oil in the car,” it may be helpful to just briefly write a note and mentally acknowledge that “I will do that later, let me return to resting in God.” With this, just be careful that your time of rest doesn’t unconsciously become your time to make to-do lists. If writing down little notes helps you let go of those things and rest, then do it. If not, try something else.
- You may find that slowing down your pace is especially helpful for this activity. This could include slowing down the pace of your walking, your breathing, your head or eye movements, etc. Sometimes our bodies show us that our hearts are frantic, even if we are not fully conscious of it. Taking a deep breath and slowing down can be very helpful.