Speak, Lord, in the Stillness

I have a daily hymn devotional  that I have recently started to use again.  It has a different classic Christian hymn for every day of the year along with a short little message either regarding the circumstances of the hymn's author or something related to scripture which the hymn draws from.  Today's hymn is called "Speak, Lord, in the Stillness" and the words, especially the first stanza really touched me:

Speak, Lord, in the stillness, 

While I wait on Thee; 

Hushed my heart to listen

In expectancy.

Speak, O blessed Master, 

In this quiet hour, 

Let me see Thy face Lord,

Feel Thy touch of power.

For the words Thou speakest, 

"They are life" indeed; 

Living Bread from heaven, 

Now my spirit feed!

All to Thee is yielded,

I am not my own; 

Blissful glad surrender,

I am Thine alone.

Fill me with the knowledge

Of Thy glorious will; 

All Thine own good pleasure

In my life fulfill.

~Emily May Grimes

Last week I started leading a new Bible study and met with several of the ladies for discipleship.  Through these talks it is evident how much the Lord wants to teach all of us about trusting Him.  Saying "trust the Lord" almost seems like a cliche in Christianity--you hear it so much, yet practicing it and truly understanding it seems almost out of reach or understanding.  

I adore the first part of this hymn:

Speak, Lord, in the stillness, 

While I wait on Thee; 

Hushed my heart to listen

In expectancy.

There are 4 things that are expected here:

1. There is stillness!  We have to slow down from the hustle & bustle of life--all the noise and crazy running and BE STILL before the Lord.  Learning to rest in the Lord has been a huge lesson that I have been in the process of learning since I got sick in 2007.  It is hard to rest and to be still.  I want to move all the time and constantly be multitasking, but this is not what God wants for us.
2. We are patiently waiting on the Lord.   Our culture wants everything now.  Even tonight, while driving back from my grandfather's concert in Princeton, KY, we stopped for dinner at a Pizza Hut and it took at least 30 minutes before our meal was ready.  I admit--I felt cranky and agitated and wanted to get on with my night.  When we got home I was frustrated because my plans for the night had not gone as planned.  I just wanted everything to happen instantly.  But in that time of waiting--both for dinner and driving back home--I had some wonderful times with my family.  Waiting on God's timing is hard b/c we don't get a game plan of what He is doing in our lives, yet when I look back on any situation where I was anxiously trying to get an answer from the Lord, I see how He directed and guided me.  Our timing is not the Lord's timing, and that is a good thing!
3. We are quietly listening to Him.  Maybe it's just me, but have you ever noticed that your prayer time is a lot of self-centered babble? I honestly don't know how to listen to God.  I know that He directs me and guides me, but I honestly don't take the time to listen and reflect.  My quiet times right now consist of reading 2 short devotional entries, reading my section of the Bible for the 90 day challenge and journaling about what I have read, and then writing a quick prayer in my prayer journal--sometimes referencing what I just read & always mentioning certain requests.  Then I'm done.  I clearly am not spending enough time reflecting and listening to Him.
4. We expect Him to speak to us.  That is huge for me.  I honestly don't expect God to speak to me.  I mean, I do expect for Him to point out certain things in what I read, but I don't expect that every time that I sit down to meet with Him (in reality, to talk to Him, not with Him) that He will have something to say back to me.  

Wow--that's a lot in 17 words of a hymn!  And in reading over it a few times I just feel that everytime I sit down to meet with the Lord, I need to start by praying the words or at least the ideas of this hymn as a request and expectation of my time with my Savior.  I'm very convicted, but also eagerly anticipating what this attitude will do for my relationship with the Lord!