POSITIVE WRITTEN SERMON – God’s Shelter Found Through Prayer

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“Let me … Find refuge under the shelter of your wings.” Psalm 61:4

There is spiritual power in stillness and peace of mind, through which you can find, and then express, the joy of the Lord. In the Old Testament book of Ecclesiastes, there is a familiar passage that begins with the words “For everything there is a season, and a time for every matter under heaven.” The writer goes on to enumerate a number of things saying that there is a time for this and a time for that. In verse seven of chapter 3, it says, ” … a time to keep silence, and a time to speak.”

I guess this moment now – is my time to speak.

Whenever we are going to speak, it is always well if we have something to say. Sometimes, we cannot outdo silence. Very often in life we are so conditioned to keep the noise going. We get so outer-oriented and so busy that we forget to take time for quiet; take time apart, as Jesus did in His ministry. This is depicted in several places in the Gospel – where Jesus needs to draw away from the crowds and take a time apart.

This is not a new idea, but are we really practicing it in our lives? In other words, maybe, sometimes, we are talking too much when we need to be silent, and just spiritually listen for the voice of God.

This reminds me of the story of the tourist who came to a country town. That evening, he went down to the General Store and found a number of men who were gathered around, sitting there in silence. This particular gentleman happened to be a person who liked to talk a lot, so he kept trying to strike up a conversation. Nobody would reply. These good old boys were just sitting around the General Store in silence. Nobody said a word. Finally, the tourist said, “Well, really, is there a law against speaking in this town?”

One of the men spoke up and said, “No, there’s no law against speaking, but we sort of have a general understanding around here that unless one is sure he can improve upon the silence, he does not speak out.”

The idea of improving upon silence is so important if we are considering we have something to say.

Another story that tells us that if we do speak out, we had better know what we have to say and what we’re going to say, and that it is of importance at least to us and possibly, to other people.

There was a gentleman who was buying a horse. The seller of the horse told the man, “This was a deeply religious horse. There are a couple of key words this horse will tune in to. Any time you want the horse to stop, just say the word ‘Amen,’ because that’s what he stops on. Then, when you want the horse to go forward, say ‘Praise the Lord.’ You got it?”

The buyer said, “Yes, I understand that, and I’m willing to go with it.”

So he bought the horse, remembering that it was a deeply religious horse.

One day, he took the horse out for a ride. While they were galloping along in this field, the horse began galloping a little too fast. The gentleman forgot the key word to stop the horse (which was ‘Amen’). He was hollering out just about every word you could imagine, but the horse just kept galloping. The gentleman looked up and noticed he was heading toward a steep cliff. The horse kept on going, and the gentleman began to panic. All of a sudden, he remembered the key word that would stop the horse, and he cried out “Amen!” The horse stopped right on the edge of the cliff. The man looks down and sees the big drop, looks up to heaven and says, “Praise the Lord.”

This story keys into one thing, in particular. That is, if we have something to say, we hope it is the right thing to say, and that it will be helpful to ourselves and to other people.

The idea of silence is a particularly important idea because it brings with it peace of mind. And peace of mind is the one thing we all strive to achieve. Of all the blessings you will receive in prayer, there is one that stands out among all the others, and that is peace of mind. I do not think we can accomplish very much in life without peace of mind.

We do not have to look far around the world to see that there are plenty of places in the world that are still in need of peace. But if we are going to have peace out there, we must first establish peace within ourselves.

One of the greatest ways to learn to establish peace within ourselves is to practice the silence, to give ourselves those opportunities to have times of real quiet, prayer, and meditation, and to be in the silence where there is just ourselves, and God. These periods of silence will lead to a greater degree of peace of mind, without which nothing of lasting value has ever been accomplished.

The Bible brings this idea out in many different ways. One particular section in the Bible is full of a lot of racket and noise, and that is the book of Revelation. The sixth chapter in the book of Revelation is where the seven seals are broken and opened. When the first six seals are opened, there are all kinds of noises that take place; things that the writer describes as the upset of the universe that he says must happen before God will reveal God’s self to you, and wipe out all the evil, and establish the kingdom of God.

Remember, that does not literally have to happen. What can happen is that we can establish peace, right here and now, as we let God have God’s perfect way in and through us. There is always a hard way to learn spirituality and an easy way.

In the first four chapters, the four horsemen appear. Then, when the fifth is broken, you have a picture of the martyrs who are slain. They are under the altar crying out, “Oh, Lord, how long before you will avenge us.” It is a hugely different concept of God than we often have. It depicts a vengeful God who is going to carry out retribution upon his people. This is the JUST writer’s point of view.

Then, when the sixth seal is broken, there are all kinds of cosmic disorders. There are earthquakes and upsets all over the place. Finally, in the next chapter, there is a nice interlude, a time of quiet. Then, in chapter eight, the first verse, the seventh and final seal is broken.

Do you know what it says then? There is NO more noise and no more racket. It just says simply that there was silence in heaven for about half an hour. Can you feel that? Then the noise starts again, according to the writer.

What a relief that must have been. What a relief it is, also, in our lives when we let the racket and the noise of the world intrude on our consciousness and peace of mind, TO KNOW that because God is with us, we always have a direct access to inner peace, that we can turn to God. We can take comfort in that spiritual thought.

Probably one of the greatest stories is in the New Testament – the idea of the stilling of the storm. Jesus was out on the waters on the Sea of Galilee with His disciples, and a storm comes up.

Jesus is asleep in the boat. A little lesson here is to remember that God never sleeps. We may sleep, but God, with us NOW, never sleeps. Anyway, the way it is shown in the scripture is that Jesus is asleep in the boat and the disciples wake Him. They ask Him something like, “Don’t you care about us?” All Jesus does is speak the word, “Peace, be still, peace, be still,” and the waters are calmed.

You and I have that same power to still the storms in our lives. How? By simply speaking the word of peace in prayer, we can take command of our consciousness, and of our lives. We are in charge of our world. We have the God-given power. All power is found in the silence.

The Bible says that we have been given dominion. In that power, we find whatever it is we need to accomplish in life, and we find the power to do it.

It is really in the quiet that things are accomplished. We know there is great power in the silence and the peace of mind that it brings. It was the same idea the poets address, in that you, could hear the silence.

The sound of the silence can be almost deafening. But what a beautiful sound it is, because you feel the spiritual power it also brings.

I remind you of Psalm 23 which says, “The Lord is my shepherd … He leads me besides still waters; he restores my soul.”

So, whatever it takes to enter into a moment of silence, let us do that. Let us take it. Let us create a practice in the silence which provides certain steps to entering the time of silence which leads to that blessed peace of mind. This then becomes the foundation from which we can go forth and accomplish things in life.

Most of you here, today, are probably working at a job in the world. That is wonderful. But there is a lot of worldly racket out there. Very often you come to church to services, on Sunday morning, to experience a time of quiet and hopefully, to gain some insight into practical, helpful daily living, and what everybody really wants – to still the racket of the world, once again. It always serves that purpose and gives a peace beyond (human) understanding.

This practice in the silence is a little technique to help us become quiet and to attain that peace of mind, from which we can then go forth and really do wonderful things in life.

1) The first step is relaxation.

Take command of your mind and body; speak the words Jesus spoke to the storm, “Peace, be still.” It does not take exceedingly long to find that your mind and body will respond to that, and there will be a sense of peace.

Once you have achieved that state of relaxation, then comes –

2) The concentration.

You begin to concentrate on a certain idea, a Divine idea. You do not worry about something or stew about some problem you have, but maybe just concentrate on the words “solution” or “answer;” whatever it might be, without effort or strain. Concentrate on a particular idea. You will know what that idea is because it will be revealed to you, through you, at exactly the right moment and in the right way.

After the concentration comes –

3) A time of meditation.

We just let the free flow of thought take place; we are one with the presence and power of God.

After meditation –

4) Realization.

The answer comes; an idea is born in our consciousness which is the solution we have been seeking.

I have found that sometimes the realization, or the answer, just does not come right at that moment. It may be after I have left that time of silence and gone out into the world; but at the right time and in the right way, there is the answer. It comes exactly at the right time and in the right way.

The fifth step in this whole process of the practice in the silence –

5) Simply an act of gratitude or thanksgiving.

We give thanks to God for the process which we have just entered and participated in, and for the answer we know is forthcoming, (if it has not already come at the time of silence). Thanksgiving is not just a wonderful way to end any activity, but to begin the activity as well. So maybe before we begin the practice in the silence, we should begin with a note of thanksgiving, because you know, in God, the answer is already there. All we have to do is let it unfold in our lives at the right time and in the right way.

Sometimes, people get the idea that when we enter a time of quiet or stillness that it is a “cop-out” from the world; that we are trying to avoid responsibility.

We can become still and quiet BEFORE we do anything. The moment of stillness is not really idleness, but a real period of intensified focused activity. There is always time in the creative process for you and me to become still, and that is the time when God takes over and brings an increase in our future efforts, in both Divine inspiration and strength.

The first chapter of Genesis is the creation story. Author Emmett Fox says that the six days of creation, before the Sabbath, are not the days that God works, spiritually, but are the days we work, when we put forth our effort and do our part. Then, we always come to the Sabbath, which is a time of rest for ourselves. It is the time when we have to let go and let God.

In everything we do, we come to that point where we have completed our efforts, and we have to let go and let God. Then we rest. The seventh day is our Sabbath. It is the day God goes to work and brings to completion all of our efforts.

The simple illustration I have always used is one of baking a cake. If you are going to bake a cake, you have to do your part in the process.

That part is your six days of creative activity, where you put all the ingredients of the cake together. Then what do you do? You let go and let God; you let go and let the oven do its work. While you are resting from your effort, the oven, or God, if you will, will go to work and bring to completion your efforts.

When you have understanding faith, (and that means an awareness that God always completes God’s part, and that God is a God of good), then you know you cannot fail. This creative process works, each and every time. We do our part. We put the ingredients of the cake together and put it in the oven, and then we let go and let God.

Of course, what do we often do while that cake is in the oven? We open up the oven door and see how God is doing; we make sure the Divine activity IS really taking place. Then we close the door. We don’t have to do all that when you understand that you really are involved in a creative process with God. I remember when I came into that awareness. Then the idea came that there really is a system by which I can live. I can really do something about this mess that I have called my life. I can change it.

Before then, there was no real system. It was, “Maybe God will act on your behalf, and maybe God won’t.”

Understanding faith is faith based on knowing – knowing that the activity of God is always at work on our behalf. All we have to do is LET IT to work with it. Do your part, and then – let go and let God. Very often the question arises, “How do I know I have done my part? How do I know there isn’t more for me to do?” When it keeps persisting, and you find that your continuing efforts are bringing more disharmony than harmony, then maybe it might be the time to let go and let God. Stop doing whatever it is you are doing, and let the Divine activity truly take over and bring to completion your efforts.

The words of Paul in his letter to the Philippians (chapter 1, verse 6): “I am sure He who began a good work in you will bring it to completion at the day of Jesus Christ.” For us, the day of Jesus Christ can be right now. It is the day of completion. Jesus Christ has already come when you and I realize that God is with us NOW; that God is with us as the essence of our being, the fullness of being, the fullness of life, love, peace, wisdom, and any spiritual quality you can think of. When you have that realization, then for all practical purposes, Jesus Christ has come a second time into your present, daily life. Paul gives us that assurance.

You can count on God to do God’s part in this whole creative process. In the Old Testament, there are several wonderful stories that bear this out – the idea of letting go and letting God at the right time, doing your part and then letting go and letting God step into the picture, and as

Paul said, bring to completion all of our efforts.

One of those stories is the story of the Red Sea. The story simply is that Moses led the children of Israel out of Egypt and got them right up to the edge of the Red Sea. This is your story and mine. The Red Sea, spiritually, represents the big obstacle that seems to loom up on our path of unfoldment. What are we going to do? Try to crash our way through it?

Run away from it? What are we going to do? As Moses led these people right up to the Red Sea, these are the words he was instructed to speak to the people: “Fear not.” Why? Because the presence and the power and the activity of God is with you, in this situation.

Friends, if we didn’t have that realization that a God of good was with us all the way, then how could we possibly face these experiences of life?

Moses said, “Fear not. Stand firm and see the salvation of the Lord which God will work for you today.” He said the Lord will fight for you, and you have only to be still. In other words, where is it we find our solution? In the stillness. You don’t find the solution in continued struggle in the outer aspect. There are outer things for us to do. The six days of creative activity are ours to do, but then there is always the Sabbath day, the seventh day.

What did the people do? They became still, right in front of this big obstacle. Do you know what the very next line is in the scripture? As soon as the people became still, the Lord said, “Go forward.” In other words, the water parted. In some way, that obstacle dissolved itself and the people were able to move through.

It is the same thing with you and me. Have you ever walked right up to a problem and then stopped, relaxed, and became still, in prayer, and then walk right on through the challenge?

Why? Because the Spirit of the Lord has paved the way for you, making it straight, safe, smooth, successful, and helpful. So, the Red Sea story tells us that in the stillness, not struggling in the outer aspect, do our miracles take place.

How about the story of Elijah and the still, small voice? He found God, not in the earthquake, not in the wind, not in the fire, not in the outer distractions of the world, but in the still, small voice within himself.

What an experience that was! When you read that account in the nineteenth chapter of First Kings, you will see it builds up to a climax of the still, small voice. You can just sense a time of quiet and peace, a time of stillness, that great peace of mind that we all aspire to. After that, what happens? The Lord tells Elijah to go to work and gives him three things to do. That is the same way it is with you and me. These periods of coming apart in the quietness and stillness are simply times of preparation for outer activity in the world, for another six days of creative activity. Then you come to the same point of letting go and letting God, enter the Sabbath rest, and be with the still, small voice within you. Sometimes, we get so caught up in all of this that we want to continue struggling and striving in the outer aspect to bring about our miracle.

Another great story in the scripture is the story of Jehoshaphat in Second Chronicles. He was the king of the southern kingdom of Judea. At one point, three invading armies came in to attack Judea. Jehoshaphat did not know what to do, so he went to a prophet. Do you know what the prophet told him? The prophet told him almost the same words you would have heard at the Red Sea with Moses. They begin with, “Fear not.” The prophet tells Jehoshaphat that “the battle is not yours, but God’s. You will not need to fight in this battle. Take your position. Stand still and see the victory of the Lord on your behalf.”

In other words, the prophet told Jehoshaphat, “Don’t do anything.” “You mean, I’m not supposed to do anything?” How are most of us conditioned? “I’ve got to get out there and do something.” But he had done all he could, up to this point. And when the three invading armies came in, two of the armies mistook the third for Jehoshaphat and fought with them. Then those other two invading armies turned on each other and fought each other. Who was standing there not having to lift a finger throughout the whole experience? Jehoshaphat.

Friends, IF he would have entered into battle, he would have been fighting a battle that he had already won. Does that sound familiar? How often we keep struggling and striving when the battle has already been won? In God, there is no battle to be fought. If you need to think in terms of fighting a battle, know in God, the battle has already been won! This whole scenario we find involved in God with us, in the perfect spiritual pattern with us, is something that simply needs to be played out on earth.

That is what you and I are attempting to do.

One more story comes out of the Old Testament that tells us about being still and experiencing salvation. It has to do with a king named Hezekiah. (In II Kings 18-20.) The Syrians had come down (a conquering nation) and had invaded the southern kingdom of Judea. They were surrounding Jerusalem, and the chief representative of the Assyrian King was outside the walls, threatening the people, and telling them, “Don’t listen to your King Hezekiah. Come out and surrender to us because you cannot resist the great King of Assyria.”

This is like what happens in us, in that city within us that we call peace of mind, when all the negative thoughts seem to be beseeching our peace of mind and quiet and shouting out at us, “Worry about this; worry about that.” Do you know what King Hezekiah does? He tells the people, “Do not answer him.” In other words, be quiet. Do you know what happens? The Assyrians withdraw. Something happens in the outer aspect.

Haven’t you noticed that when you let go and let God, something happens, and very often it is unexpected. It is always better than you expected. But something happens, and that which you fear, does NOT come about. What does come about is the perfect solution to your problem.

It is interesting, because many Biblical scholars think that at that time at the siege of Jerusalem by the King of Assyria, at about 700 B.C., that a certain psalm was written (Psalm 46). Psalm 46 begins by stating, “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble.” Do you know what verse 10 of Psalm 46 says? “Be still and know that I am God.” Do you see how that statement ties into what Hezekiah told the people in chapter 18 of II Kings when he said, “Do not answer him”? We can take a cue from that. “Be still and know that I am God.” When you have done your part, simply let go and let God.

This morning, I began this talk by quoting Ecclesiastes in saying, “For everything is a season; there is a time for every matter under heaven.” I said there was a time to keep silent and a time to speak, but we can also reverse that: there is a time to speak and a time to keep silent. I think my time of speaking is over, and now it is time for me to keep silent. I have done my part.

God bless you!

PRAYER / MEDITATION______________________________

(Softly sing The Lord’s Prayer)

Follow with silence

As we continue in this prayer time, established by the singing of The Lord’s Prayer and listening to the beautiful sounds of the silence, we begin to relax and let go. We begin to let our thought flow to the deep and quiet within us. Within us and all about us is a deep abiding silence that is beyond the clamor, beyond the busyness, beyond all those things that are taking place in the outer world. We relax, let go, and attune our thoughts, right here and now, to the deep abiding silence within us.

As we move our thought spiritually inward, we tap that deep silence, wherein know we are one with the one Presence and one Power, God; the source of all good, the source of all life, the source of all light, the source of all love. The source of everything we may desire is within us in the silence of our being.

In the silence of prayer …

How wonderful, how marvelous to know that we do not have to seek outside of ourselves, but only tap into that reservoir of all we may desire.

Whatever we desire to create in the outer is to be found in abundance within us. We have all the power we will ever need to create our world according to a perfect law.

As we hold those thoughts in mind that produce good in our lives, we tap into the power and the presence of God. We are renewed, uplifted, and healed by that Presence and that Power. We feel the goodness of God filling our minds and hearts. No matter what the desire of our heart is to create in mind, body, and life experience, we find that Source of renewal, of healing, of all good with God.

In the silence of prayer …

God is life; the very life of life. That life flows through us when we tap into the pure source of life. We allow that life to renew, rebuild and uplift our body temples. Every cell responds to the movement of life.

As we seek it in the silence of prayer, new life is ours …

The silence is the source of all light. The light of the illumination of God guides and directs our ways and leads us into those paths that are for our highest good and for the highest good of all people concerned.

Surely, God is a lamp unto our feet. That light within us illumines our minds and fills our minds with wisdom. We know what to do and how to do it. We rejoice that the God of light is deep within us and all around us, working through us to bring about new good in our lives.

In the silence of prayer …

God is love. God is the source of all love. As we let that love, which is God, fill our mind and heart to overflowing, we are established in love. Love renews; love reaches out and touches all in our circle of life. Love harmonizes and brings peace. So, we let that love, which is God, express through us, as us.

God is peace, the peace that passes all understanding. As we fill our mind and heart with that peace, which is God, we let it flow out to all of the communities in our area, to all of the states of these United States, to all areas of the world. We see perfect peace being established in the mind and heart of every person, everywhere. We NOW have peace of mind.

We rejoice and give thanks that peace is now established in the silence of prayer …

Whatever good we desire, God is the answer. And in the silence of prayer, we seek to know God more completely and clearly.

We seek it now in the silence, in the silence of prayer …

We feel the wonder of God’s presence within us. We feel the joy of God’s presence with us. And we feel the goodness of God all about us. Knowing we have established a greater awareness of that God-presence which renews us always, we now bring our time of prayer and meditation to a close. As in heaven, so in earth, the heaven of our mind is surely filled with the goodness of God, and likewise, shall be the earth of our experience.

Rest in the silence of prayer …

This we do in the name and through the power of the living, loving presence of God, and Jesus Christ … Amen.

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