HUMBLE, HELD, HOPEFUL
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Opening Prayer
Father in Heaven, you have overseen every moment of my past and you have planned each minute of my future, all for my good and your glory. I thank and praise you for your loving care and for your purposes for me.
Read PSALM 131
For additional translations of the passage, use this link to Bible Gateway.
A song of ascents. Of David.
1 My heart is not proud, Lord,
my eyes are not haughty;
I do not concern myself with great matters
or things too wonderful for me.
2 But I have calmed and quieted myself,
I am like a weaned child with its mother;
like a weaned child I am content.
3 Israel, put your hope in the Lord
both now and forevermore.
New International Version (NIV)Holy Bible, New International Version®, NIV® Copyright ©1973, 1978, 1984, 2011 by Biblica, Inc.® Used by permission. All rights reserved worldwide.
Reflect
Talk to God about your memories and experiences of silence, both positive and negative.One of the soul-refreshing joys of living in Northern Ireland is being able to walk in the Mourne Mountains. There, with the crunch of my footsteps stilled as I pause to enjoy the views, I have often remembered Elijah’s experience of God in the sound of sheer silence (1 Kings 19:12). External silence is hard to come by in today’s fast-paced world, internal silence perhaps even more so among the strong currents of our frenetic thoughts and fraught feelings. Yet that is what this psalm invites us into with beautiful brevity: a calm and quiet soul.
Three themes interweave: being humble (v. 1), being held (v .2), and being hopeful (v. 3), each leading into the next. Do you notice from verse 2 that we have a part to play: we calm and quiet ourselves? As we reject arrogant, controlling attitudes that preoccupy us with what’s not ours to oversee, we discover a contented peace. No longer reliant on small feeds of milk, a weaned child is sustained for longer periods by more substantial solid foods and has learned over time to trust the reliability of the one who feeds the child, attaching securely in the process. What if we could experience this confident, steadying attachment with God? Surely, our hope for both present and future would be firm and enduring.
Apply
Why not try including a time of silence in your daily rhythms with God? Start with just a couple of minutes and gradually increase.
Closing prayer
Heavenly Father, I confess there are times when I am caught so up in the needs, commitments, and even trivial occupations of my day, that I don’t take the time to feel your presence or hear your voice. Help me to still my mind and heart before you, to listen for your gentle whisper.
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