“Now then, stand still and see this great thing the LORD is about to do before your eyes!” I Samuel 12:16

“Be still before the LORD and wait patiently for him…” Psalm 37:7a

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

“Be still before the LORD, all mankind, because he has roused himself from his holy dwelling.” Zechariah 2:13

Be still…these verses say it so well in the midst of a culture that is in far too much of a hurry. Hurry to work and hurry to school. Hurry to church and hurry to the closest restaurant to beat the Methodists to the front of the line.  Hurry, we live with it all the time. When was the last time you took some TIME to just be still?

Perhaps that is the greatest reason to have a prelude. Perhaps that is why we began having them in the first place. Perhaps, somewhere back down the road, even before iPod touch and Droids, Microwave dinners and drive-through fast food, someone decided things were getting way out of hand when it came to our rushing into God’s presence without taking TIME to quiet our souls, or at least refocus them on the God who is Holy.

It’s not just some incidental music to underscore our conversations. The purpose for the prelude is to turn our attention away from one another and toward God. There really should be no conversations taking place during the prelude except those that happen between us and God in our hearts and minds as we turn our attention to Him.

It is meant to give us TIME to still our minds and turn our attention away from the noise that surrounds us in our busy world to focus on God. So, this Sunday as the prelude begins wherever you worship, please take advantage of that TIME to focus your minds and hearts on God. Turn off the cell phone. Yes, you can live with it in the OFF mode for one hour. The sky won’t fall and the world won’t end. Get your mind off of Sunday dinner and onto feasting on God’s goodness and loving Him with all of your heart, mind, soul and strength. He wants to meet us there every time we gather for worship.

Won’t you join me in seeking His presence this Sunday beginning with the very first note of the prelude?

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