Be still and know

Lynn McChlery November 02, 2026 1 2

Playlists

Add to Favourites

Save for later

Listen to this daily worship

Psalm 46: 10 (NIV-UK)

10 He says, ‘Be still, and know that I am God;
    I will be exalted among the nations,
    I will be exalted in the earth.’

I have long been in the practice of taking silent retreats. It sounds weird, and it can be hard to convey what happens in the stillness. To illustrate, I take a glass bottle, put in a handful of mud, stones and twigs from the garden, fill the bottle with water, and shake it all up. In the swirl of muddy water, everything is obscured and it’s hard to see anything clearly. As the particles slowly settle, the water begins to distil. Gradually it becomes opaque, and general shapes are discernible. Left perfectly undisturbed for a day, the water becomes clear. Not only that, each pebble and bit of gravel is revealed in its own unique shape, together forming a striking pattern.

That happens in our inner lives when we give ourselves to stillness. Without surface stimulus, the frantic movement of our thoughts begins to slow. Given enough time, God’s spirit reveals with clarity what’s going on in us - sometimes surprising us with its beauty! That clear-sightedness brings knowledge. Some things are bigger or smaller than we thought, some lovelier. And nothing is urgent or rushed. The Spirit of God is over the water, revealing order, creating something new from the mess and muddle (Genesis 1:1-2).

And we don’t have to physically get away from it all – or not far. Psalm 46 describes the kind of sound and fury that seems inescapable in modern life – 24/7 news, social media, background music in public spaces, phones permanently on. Amid that, not apart from it, God speaks: “Be still and know that I am God.” We can form the habit of regularly clearing time and space for stillness, focusing on God.

Prayer:

Check that you are comfortable and undisturbed - remove your phone! You might use a visual focus outside your window on something in nature, or light a candle. Repeat as a prayer: “Be still and know that I am God.” Try breathing in “Be still and know” and breathing out “that I am God.” Take 5 minutes to do this. Don’t fret about the many thoughts that immediately fill your mind – just acknowledge them and keep going!