Quiet Before God

LORD, my heart is not proud;

my eyes are not haughty.

I don’t concern myself with matters too great

or too awesome for me to grasp.

Instead, I have calmed and quieted myself,

like a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk.

Yes, like a weaned child is my soul within me.

Psalm 131:1-2

We have all seen it. A small child climbs up in her mother’s arms. Full of trust and love, she is content to rest there—leaving behind her tears, worries, and even her desires. She lies content in her mother’s embrace. In this prayer, David described himself as being like such a child—content to rest in God’s embrace. David quieted his soul before God enough to accept his circumstances, the difficulties that were beyond his control. He left those “matters too great or too awesome” for him to God. He simply trusted that God—someone wiser and more powerful than he—was looking after his needs.

Quiet your soul before God in your prayer time as David did. Leave your life in his hands.

• Dear God, I have calmed and quieted myself, just as a weaned child who no longer cries for its mother’s milk . . .