Could there be anything more important than sitting before God everyday? AW Tozer

Read with me,

For thus said the Lord God, the Holy One of Israel, “In returning and rest you shall be saved; in quietness and in trust shall be your strength.” Isaiah 30:15

“The Lord is in his holy temple;  let all the earth be silent before him.” Habakkuk 2:20

In the life of Faith we live we have come to understand that most of our life represents a life for death principle. Salvation involves our death to new life, as a result of His death leading to new life. This is a foundation to every believer’s faith and Salvation. It is the same with prayer and stillness. Prayer yields power and life, but requires the death of self. When we are dead, we do not speak. Being quiet before God is the physical manifestation of self that has died. When we sit before Him in stillness we are allowing our bodies and souls to testify of the finished work by manifesting rest and lack of self-interest. When we look at different references in the Word, you will often encounter the word earth as denoting that which is corruptible, of lower thinking, self, and carnal. Habakkuk instructs all the earth to be silent. Take this to mean the processes of your thinking, things that speak to you daily as you navigate desires and wants, the chaotic noise that comes from busyness, and the needs we experience to be heard and seen.  Habakkuk instructs all the earth to be silent before God. This is what happens when we pray. This is demonstrated when we sit in stillness and wait on Him. We do this by actively silencing the thoughts but rather engage His heart. We do this by sitting at His feet and listening. We do this by choosing less busyness and less doing, less performance, less ‘fulfillment,’ less accomplishment, less accumulation, and less speaking. Sometimes doing less merely means forming fewer opinions, or saying less often what we think or feel. Becoming quiet before Him means I do less of what I think the moment requires, and just yield.

Stillness facilitates His processes in your life. There is a stillness to be engaged in that ushers in a moment of clarity that drives out the atmosphere of chaos and confusion. There is a quietness to be participated in that informs our minds of His goodness and willingness. It is when we sit in stillness that we pray. It is not in the victory shout and strategic dialogues that victory is won, but in the determined execution of the words He speaks when we listen. It is in being still before Him that His activity is quickened, because we have effectively diminished the noise of performance demands to consider His approach above our own. Silence quickens God’s activity. Stillness brings the strengthening that He provides and invigorates us as we wait on Him. As we give it all to Him and lay our lives down before His feet, we get to see His face and hear His voice. There is nothing better in all of life than stealing precious moments to sit with Him. 

Do not pick up again the battle of thoughts and wills, yield in quietness. Engage in the restful labor that yields personal victories displayed in a life of submission. There where you lay your head on His heart, in quietness and trust, be renewed as you quiet self, as you lay down your demands and opinions. Set your affections on that which is above, not on earth. Get quiet before him and constantly retreat. Quiet your heart by entrusting yourself to His embrace.