Dr. Ray Pritchard Christian Blog and Commentary

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Be Still and Know

  • Dr. Ray Pritchard
    Dr. Ray Pritchard is the president of Keep Believing Ministries, an Internet-based ministry serving Christians in 225 countries. He is the author of 29 books, including Stealth Attack, Fire and Rain,… More
  • Updated May 20, 2008

We have posted a new sermon on the Keep Believing website called Be Still and Know. The sermon came in response to a question from a friend in China who wondered why God sent the terrible earthquake that took so many lives in the Sichuan province last week. As I considered his question, my mind was drawn to Psalm 46:10, Be still and know that I am God.” Here is an excerpt from the message:

 Note carefully what Psalm 46:10 says. We are to be still and know. The stillness leads to the knowing. It is precisely when we admit that we don’t know that we are most likely to learn something. Sometimes the most spiritual thing you can say is “I don’t know” because the confession of your weakness becomes the ground for a new revelation of God’s strength. Sometimes we talk too much when hard times come, as if by talking we will explain the ways of the Almighty. We are much more likely to know the ways of the Lord if we are first still before him. It is like going to the Louvre Museum in Paris and rushing past thirty paintings in five minutes, as if speed improves comprehension. It would be better to spend thirty minutes studying one masterpiece. Even so you may ponder the Mona Lisa for a lifetime and be drawn back again and again by her enigmatic smile.

“Be still and know,” says the Lord. Never is this more needed than when we face a tragedy beyond our comprehension.

In silence we learn.
In silence we begin to understand.
In silence we know.

 You can reach the author at ray@keepbelieving.com. Click here to sign up for the free weekly email sermon.