Be Still Before the Lord: Psalm 37-Supplication through the Scriptures

Be Still Before the Lord

Psalm 37

The man, therefore, who, leaving the issue of all his affairs to the will of God, and who, patiently waiting to receive from his hand whatever he may be pleased to send, whether prosperity or adversity, casts all his cares, and every other burden which he bears, into his bosom.
John Calvin

How would you describe stillness? An absence of movement? An absence of turmoil or noise? A place devoid of anxiousness and fretting? A feeling of peace and rest? Quietness?

David tells us in Psalm 37:7, “Be still before the Lord.” This stillness is silence in the face of evildoers and the lack of emotional distress and turmoil we can feel inwardly when going through distressing circumstances. Stillness is the ability to have an inner quietness and rest even when outward situations are pressing upon us. A stillness in our spirit depends on our proximity to our Savior and resting securely in His sovereign care. 

When I am feeling unrest, turmoil, anxiousness, or fretting, I need to turn my eyes to the Lord and remind myself again that all the things that burden me are not mine to carry. He is willing and able to carry all my burdens and bear all my cares in His everlasting arms. As Albert Barnes said, “The burden which we have not got strength to bear we may lay on God.” And even more than that, we may cast ALL our cares on Him because He cares for us (1 Peter 5:7).

Fret Not

37:1-2 Fret not yourself because of evildoers; be not envious of wrongdoers! For they will soon fade like the grass and wither like the green herb. 
Lord, I pray:
▫️When trouble rises against me and around me, I would not fret, become angry, anxious, or fearful. I would not allow my emotions to drive my thinking and my faith.
▫️I would put away from myself all envy, bitterness, resentment, or jealousy because these show that I am doubting Your justice and goodness. 

Delight in the Lord

37:3-4 Trust in the Lord, and do good; dwell in the land and befriend faithfulness. Delight yourself in the Lord, and he will give you the desires of your heart. 
Lord, I pray: 
▫️I would choose to rely and depend on You, to trust You moment by moment and day by day, and this confidence in You would motivate godly living in every circumstance. Is there a situation that I am finding it difficult to do good and trust the Lord?
▫️Wherever You have placed me, I would serve faithfully and not grumble or complain, but I would accept this assignment as from Your hand and have a stillness in my mind and heart accepting Your will.
▫️My soul would be happy in You, in all that You are, and how You have condescended to save me, love me, guide me, and give me comfort. What attribute of the Lord or spiritual blessing can I delight in today?
▫️All my desires would be regulated by my relationship with You and You would accomplish what concerns me. What desires do I need to entrust to Him today?

Trust in Him

37:5-6 Commit your way to the Lord; trust in him, and he will act. He will bring forth your righteousness as the light, and your justice as the noonday. 
Lord, I pray:
▫️I would roll all my burdens and cares on You, committing them to Your care; You will sustain me because You care for me. What is burdening me this morning that I need to entrust to the Lord?
▫️I would give to You all my fearfulness, anxiety, bitterness, resentment, envy, jealousy, or unbelief.
▫️I would wait expectantly for You to act on my behalf and bring about justice for me.

Be still Before the Lord

37:7-9 Be still before the Lord and wait patiently for him; fret not yourself over the one who prospers in his way, over the man who carries out evil devices! Refrain from anger, and forsake wrath! Fret not yourself; it tends only to evil. For the evildoers shall be cut off, but those who wait for the Lord shall inherit the land. 
Lord, I pray:
▫️In Your presence, I would be still. My spirit would be at rest, free from the churning of emotions and weighty thoughts, and just be quiet, resting confidently in You and Your care for me and my situation.
▫️In quietness of spirit, I would wait patiently, for from You comes my salvation (Psalm 62:1), and in quietness and in trust shall be my strength (Isaiah 30:15). In what circumstance must I wait patiently for the Lord to act, trusting both His plan and His timing?

Abundant Peace

37:10-11 In just a little while, the wicked will be no more; though you look carefully at his place, he will not be there. But the meek shall inherit the land and delight themselves in abundant peace.
Lord, I pray:
▫️ I would be clothed with humility and meekness, toward others and toward the Lord. Whatever ills have befallen me, I would accept them humbly from the Lord because He chastens those whom He loves.
▫️The Lord would grant me abundant peace! He is the Lord of peace and He can grant me peace in every circumstance (2 Thessalonians 3:16). 
▫️I would rejoice this morning that I have peace with God through my Lord Jesus Christ (Romans 5:1), and that reconciliation has secured for me every spiritual blessing in the heavenly places in Christ (Ephesians 1:3).

May the Lord do exceedingly abundantly above all that we ask or think, for His glory and our good. In Jesus’ name. Amen.

The meaning here is, that we should seek our happiness in God-in his being, his perfections, his friendship, his love.
Albert Barnes 

Psalm 37:1-11 quoted from the ESV.
Photo credit to chrislawton

Comments

Post a Comment

Popular posts from this blog

A Mother’s Longing

Image
A Mother’s Longing “…in your faith you are standing firm.” 2 Corinthians 1:24 It is not surprising that 3 John 4 is so often quoted by Christian parents in their deep desire for their children, “I have no greater joy than this, to hear of my children walking in the truth” (NASB). This is the deep longing of my heart as a mother. I want my children to truly know Christ, to walk in His ways, to love His Word, and to be committed to His church. I desire to be able to say to them, “in your faith you are standing firm” (2 Corinthians. 1:24). Am I being a faithful steward of my role as a Christian mother? Are my actions reflecting this deep desire to see my dearly loved children walking in the truth?  As we head into this new year, it is wise to both look back and look forward. The new year offers us many possibilities to grow and change and also to continue to persevere in the things that God, by His grace, has enabled us to carry out faithfully. If one of my deepest longings is to see ...
Read more

A Piercing that Drives Us to Our Knees

Image
A Piercing that Drives Us to Our Knees: to the mothers of the brokenhearted and the wandering Where there is a praying mother there is always hope. J.C.Ryle From the time our children are a positive line on a pregnancy test and then placed in our arms for the first time, our hearts as their mother are intricately intertwined with theirs. The first cry brings tears and joy, such inexpressible joy. And then they grow, and we love to see them exploring, learning, and developing their personalities. But the moment they come home having faced rejection for the first time, or they struggle with a mental illness that leaves us feeling deeply inadequate, or we get an email from the school that they’ve been caught cheating, each taste of sorrow and sin that they taste, we experience as well. The words spoken to Mary could be the gentle warning each mother must heed, “and a sword will pierce even your own soul”(Luke 2:35).  I’m not sure our children will understand until they become parents ...
Read more

Don’t Give Up, Mom: when mothering makes you weary

Image
  Don’t Give Up: when mothering makes you weary Therefore, having this ministry by the mercy of God, we never give up… 2 Corinthians 4:1 ESV, NLT Mothering can have seasons where weariness and discouragement lie right at the surface. Perhaps it’s a physically exhausting time, maybe spiritually you’re struggling or a child is, maybe it’s just busier than normal and it’s hard to juggle everything without feeling stressed out, or maybe it’s hard to even find a reason why you’re struggling. It can be so many little things, or big things and little things, and you just want to give up, even if only for a little while. You wish you could run away and rest, clear your mind and breathe. How can we faithfully persevere through motherhood, each of its season, and each season’s hardships?  As I studied 2 Corinthians 4:1-6, I wanted to see how Paul could say, “we never give up.” Studying this book, I have come to appreciate the tenacity of Paul and his steadfastness through so many diffic...
Read more