Embracing Stillness: The Transformative Power of Being with God

Devotional

Day 1: Be Still and Know That I Am God

Stillness in God’s presence refreshes our souls and reminds us that we are not defined by our productivity, but by our relationship with Him. In a world that constantly demands activity and achievement, the invitation to “be still” is like water to a weary soul. When we let go of the need to control every outcome and simply rest in God’s sovereignty, we find deep peace and freedom. This stillness is not just inactivity, but a sacred space where we allow ourselves to be human and allow God to be God, trusting that He is present and in control. [41:30]

Psalm 46:10 (ESV)
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

Reflection: Where in your daily routine can you intentionally pause, be still, and acknowledge God’s presence—letting go of the need to be productive or in control, even for just a few minutes today?

Day 2: Contemplative Prayer—Beholding God Transforms Us

Contemplative prayer is the practice of simply being with God, gazing upon Him and allowing ourselves to be seen and loved in return. This kind of prayer is not about words or requests, but about presence—bringing our whole selves before God and beholding His glory. As we do this, Scripture promises that we are transformed into His image, not by our striving, but by the power of His presence. In this sacred exchange, we experience a deep knowing of God’s love that goes beyond intellectual understanding and becomes a reality in our bones. [47:11]

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (ESV)
“But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Reflection: Find a quiet moment today to sit in God’s presence without an agenda—what do you notice as you simply “behold” Him and allow yourself to be seen by Him?

Day 3: God’s Love Is Greater Than Our Shame

Many struggle to sit silently with God because deep down, they fear His disappointment more than they trust His love. The truth is, God’s love is not based on our performance or perfection; it is steadfast, passionate, and unchanging, even when we feel unworthy or ashamed. The voices of shame and accusation—whether from our own wounds or from the enemy—try to drown out the truth of God’s delight in us. But God’s love is greater than our failures, and He invites us to come as we are, to let His love wash over our deepest wounds and lies. [52:48]

Romans 8:1, 38-39 (ESV)
“There is therefore now no condemnation for those who are in Christ Jesus... For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.”

Reflection: What is one lie of shame or unworthiness you hear most often—can you bring it honestly before God today and ask Him to speak His love and truth over it?

Day 4: God’s Relentless, Passionate Love for Us

God’s love for us is not distant or reserved; it is relentless, passionate, and deeply personal—like the love of a faithful spouse or a father who runs to embrace his lost child. Throughout Scripture, God uses stories of marital devotion and parental compassion to show how fiercely He desires relationship with us, even when we wander or feel unlovable. He is not mad at you; He is madly in love with you, longing for you to come home and celebrate in His presence. [58:46]

Luke 15:20-24 (ESV)
“And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him. And the son said to him, ‘Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son.’ But the father said to his servants, ‘Bring quickly the best robe, and put it on him, and put a ring on his hand, and shoes on his feet. And bring the fattened calf and kill it, and let us eat and celebrate. For this my son was dead, and is alive again; he was lost, and is found.’ And they began to celebrate.”

Reflection: Is there a part of your heart that feels distant or unworthy of God’s love? Imagine the Father running to embrace you—how might you respond to His invitation to celebrate your belonging today?

Day 5: Living From God’s Love, Not For It

True transformation and freedom come when we live from the reality of God’s love, not striving to earn it through our actions or success. When we know we are already loved, our lives become a response to that love rather than a desperate attempt to gain validation. This shift—from living for love and validation to living from it—brings rest, joy, and a deeper sense of purpose. God’s greatest longing is simply to be with you, and for you to receive and respond to His love. [01:11:03]

John 15:9-11 (ESV)
“As the Father has loved me, so have I loved you. Abide in my love. If you keep my commandments, you will abide in my love, just as I have kept my Father’s commandments and abide in his love. These things I have spoken to you, that my joy may be in you, and that your joy may be full.”

Reflection: In what area of your life are you most tempted to strive for God’s approval—how can you practice abiding in His love and letting your actions flow from that place today?

Sermon Summary

Today, we gathered as a community to explore the deep and transformative practice of simply being with God in prayer. In a world that constantly pushes us toward activity, productivity, and noise, there is a profound invitation to step into stillness and presence. This is not about doing more or saying more, but about learning to rest in God’s love, to be with Him without the need for words or performance. The heart of this journey is recognizing that God’s presence is not something we earn or achieve, but something we are invited to enjoy.

Drawing from Psalm 46:10, “Be still and know that I am God,” we considered why this call to stillness resonates so deeply. Our culture prizes busyness and accomplishment, yet our souls thirst for rest and the assurance that God is God—and we are not. In the silence, we are reminded that our value is not in our productivity, but in our belovedness. The story of the old farmer who simply sat in God’s presence, “I look at God and He looks at me and we are happy,” illustrates the beauty of contemplative prayer: a prayer of being, not doing.

Yet, entering this kind of prayer is not easy. We face the challenge of slowing down, and even more deeply, we confront the core lie that God is more disappointed in us than delighted with us. Many of us struggle to believe that God truly loves us as we are, not just for what we do. The stories of God’s relentless love—whether through the prophet Hosea’s faithfulness to his unfaithful wife, the passionate longing in the Song of Songs, or the father who runs to embrace his prodigal son—remind us that God’s love is not based on our performance, but on His own heart.

In the end, what God most desires is us—our presence, our being, our willingness to sit with Him and receive His love. From this place of belovedness, we are transformed. We are invited to abide, to remain in His love, and to let that love shape our lives. Practical tools and resources can help us slow down and enter into this stillness, but the greatest invitation is simply to come, to be, and to know that we are loved.

Key Takeaways

1. Stillness is a Spiritual Necessity, Not a Luxury In a culture addicted to activity and noise, stillness before God is not just restful—it is essential for spiritual health. The invitation to “be still and know that I am God” is a call to let go of the illusion of control and to rest in God’s sufficiency. This kind of stillness is water to our weary souls, reminding us that our worth is not in what we do, but in who we are before God. [39:41]
2. Contemplative Prayer Transforms Us by Presence, Not Performance Contemplative prayer is about gazing at God and allowing Him to gaze at us, bringing our full selves—without pretense or hiding—into His presence. In this mutual beholding, we are changed, not by striving, but by simply being with the One who loves us. Transformation happens as we experience God’s love in our bones, not just as an idea but as a lived reality. [47:11]
3. The Core Lie: God’s Disappointment vs. God’s Delight Many struggle to sit in silence with God because of a deep-seated belief that God is disappointed in them. This lie is fueled by our own shame and by the voice of the accuser, who wants us to believe we are only as valuable as our performance. The truth is, God’s love is not diminished by our failures or wounds; His delight in us is steadfast and unearned. [52:48]
4. God’s Love is Relentless, Passionate, and Unconditional The stories of Scripture—Hosea’s faithfulness, the Song of Songs’ longing, the father’s embrace of the prodigal—reveal a God who pursues us with relentless love. God’s desire is not for our perfection, but for authentic relationship. He throws a party when we return, and He comes out to meet us even in our resentment or shame, always inviting us back into His love. [58:46]
5. Abiding in God’s Love is the Foundation for Life and Growth Remaining in God’s love—abiding, as Jesus teaches in John 15—is the source of true life and fruitfulness. Living from love, rather than for love, frees us from exhaustion and striving. As we learn to sit with God, to look at Him and let Him look at us, we discover the joy and transformation that come from simply being His beloved. [71:03]

Youtube Chapters

[00:00] - Welcome
[00:45] - Community and Belonging at Boulder Valley
[02:10] - Series Introduction: The Practice of Prayer
[04:30] - Life Groups and Alpha Invitation
[06:00] - Story: A Different Pace of Life in Vanuatu
[10:00] - The Power of Comfortable Silence
[13:00] - Be Still and Know: Psalm 46:10
[17:00] - The Exhaustion of Constant Activity
[20:00] - Contemplative Prayer: Being with God
[24:00] - The Challenge of Slowing Down
[28:00] - The Core Lie: God’s Disappointment
[32:00] - Stories of God’s Relentless Love
[38:00] - Receiving Love: Beyond Performance
[43:00] - Practical Tools for Stillness
[46:00] - Closing Prayer and Worship

Bible Study Guide

Bible Reading

Psalm 46:10 (ESV) — > “Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”

2 Corinthians 3:16-18 (ESV) — > “But when one turns to the Lord, the veil is removed. Now the Lord is the Spirit, and where the Spirit of the Lord is, there is freedom. And we all, with unveiled face, beholding the glory of the Lord, are being transformed into the same image from one degree of glory to another. For this comes from the Lord who is the Spirit.”

Luke 15:17-24 (ESV) — > (Parable of the Prodigal Son, excerpt)
> “But when he came to himself, he said, ‘How many of my father’s hired servants have more than enough bread, but I perish here with hunger! I will arise and go to my father, and I will say to him, “Father, I have sinned against heaven and before you. I am no longer worthy to be called your son. Treat me as one of your hired servants.”’ And he arose and came to his father. But while he was still a long way off, his father saw him and felt compassion, and ran and embraced him and kissed him...”

Observation Questions

In Psalm 46:10, what are the two main instructions God gives, and what do they imply about our relationship with Him?
According to 2 Corinthians 3:18, what happens to us as we “behold the glory of the Lord”?
In the story of the prodigal son (Luke 15), what is the father’s response when his son returns home?
The sermon described a story of an old farmer who said, “I look at God and He looks at me and we are happy.” What does this story illustrate about prayer? [[47:11]]

Interpretation Questions

Why do you think God commands us to “be still” before knowing that He is God? What does this say about how we often approach God?
The sermon mentioned that many of us struggle to believe God delights in us rather than being disappointed. How does this belief affect our willingness to sit in silence with God? [[52:48]]
In 2 Corinthians 3:18, Paul says we are “transformed” as we behold God. What does it mean to be transformed by simply being in God’s presence, rather than by doing more or saying more?
The father in the prodigal son story runs to embrace his son before the son can even apologize. What does this reveal about God’s heart toward us, especially when we feel unworthy? [[58:46]]

Application Questions

The sermon said, “Stillness before God is not just restful—it is essential for spiritual health.” What are some specific ways you can create space for stillness in your week, even if your life feels busy? What would you need to change or let go of? [[39:41]]
When you try to be still with God, what voices or thoughts tend to get in the way? Are there particular lies or feelings of shame that make it hard for you to believe God delights in you? How can you begin to recognize and challenge those voices? [[52:48]]
The old farmer’s way of praying was simply, “I look at God and He looks at me and we are happy.” Have you ever tried this kind of prayer? If not, what would it look like for you to try it this week? If you have, what was your experience? [[47:11]]
The sermon described God’s love as relentless, passionate, and unconditional, using stories like Hosea, Song of Songs, and the prodigal son. Which of these images of God’s love is hardest for you to accept personally, and why? [[58:46]]
Jesus says in John 15 to “abide in my love.” What is one practical step you can take this week to remain in God’s love, rather than striving to earn it? [[01:11:03]]
The sermon mentioned using practical tools or resources (like apps) to help slow down and enter stillness. Is there a tool, practice, or habit you want to try this week to help you be present with God? What might get in the way, and how can you address it? [[01:11:03]]
Think about a time when someone’s presence (not their words) brought you comfort. How might you offer that same kind of presence to God in prayer, or to someone else in your life this week? [[39:41]]

Sermon Clips

The heart of this series is to grow us, to mature us, to deepen us in our prayers, in our prayer life, and in our connection with God. God, recognizing, I mean, this is the heart of it, recognizing his presence in our life. [00:34:06]

It's so good to sit in circles and in community and have conversation about this. So, asking every life group to go through this four -week series on prayer, and if you're not in a life group, just, I'd highlight to you, come and check out Alpha. Come and check out Alpha Thursday night. You can go once, and if you don't like it, don't go back, you know, but we want to just open that up, a place that you can sit at a table with some people from this community and talk questions of, kind of ultimate questions, and bigger questions of life and faith and God. [00:35:33]

There’s a power in presence which is beyond the capacity of language and friends this brings us to today’s today’s angle of prayer just being being with God. [00:42:12]

When busy activity and endless productivity become the constant gear in which we operate, when language and information are constantly crammed into our ears and our minds, we get exhausted. It tires us out, it wears us out. Be still is like water to our souls. [00:44:11]

Knowing God is God and we are not, allowing God to be God and removing that responsibility from ourselves, that too, friends, is water to our dry souls. We are hungry for stillness, we are hungry to let go of the need to control everything. [00:44:51]

So the idea of prayer being a place where we're able to not have to be active and productive and to fill the space with language but to merely be, is that not attractive? In a place of prayer we can just be with God, allowing ourselves to be human, allowing him to be God. That's attractive. [00:45:15]

This is a type of prayer where we sit with God with unveiled faces, hiding nothing of who we are, bringing the fullness of who we are, what we feel, experience, think, all of it, and we behold the wonder of God and who he is. We gaze at him as he gazes at us and we are happy. [00:48:27]

Beholding God as he is, as he beholds us as we are, transforms us. [00:49:11]

We can't just know about the love of God, we have to know the love of God. Contemplative prayer is a knowing in our bones, a knowing of experience, of being with God. [00:49:27]

I believe this type of prayer, contemplative, sitting with the Lord without the need for words, it is difficult because of a presenting issue and because of a core lie. [00:50:26]

The presenting issue is it is hard to slow down. It is hard to slow down, it is hard to be still, it is hard to meditate upon the Lord. We are addicted, we are addicted to activity. We live in a culture of constant activity, raising kids with unending opportunities for activities, right? And this is a prayer of inactivity. [00:50:42]

But there's a core lie that's deeper. The heart honest truth is that most of us cannot sit silent with God because we don't really believe he loves us. [00:51:45]

If we experience God as more disappointed with us than in love with us, we have swallowed a lie. [00:53:07]

Don't elevate your sinfulness higher than God's forgiveness, don't elevate your woundedness higher than God's love, and don't diminish God's love to the level of your feelings. [00:55:02]

There is an accuser and an enemy of your souls that Satan the devil wants to lie, kill and destroy and rip the seeds of truth that God has planted in your life, wants to rip them out. [00:55:31]

God is not mad at you, he is madly in love with you. And when we feel that we are not good enough to sit in his presence, he throws a party. When we get stuck in a morality based performance posture, he reminds us, no, you, you are my son, you are my child, everything I have is yours, get back into the party. [01:02:49]

What God most longs for from you is you. [01:03:10]

From love and validation, life is lived well. Living for love and validation is exhausting. [01:07:30]

If you're like, man, I do hunger my soul. I want to sit with a God who I can trust loves me. And I want to be able to sit in that and look at Him and Him at me and be transformed. [01:11:34]

Sit in the truth of who God is. [01:12:13]

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