Where do you like to spend your time alone with God? Some like to read their Bible and pray at the kitchen table. Others have a favorite chair, or a certain end of the couch. Maybe with your busy schedule, your quiet time with the Lord happens in the break room at work. Or perhaps in the car during your commute.
In these winter months I like a spot where I can sit with my coffee and look out at the trees and the birds. But when the weather’s nice, I enjoy getting outside to meditate on the Word and talk with God. My soul has often been refreshed in Christ near a lake, a stream, or in the woods.
I remember one specific time sitting in the grass outside an old country church in Western Pennsylvania. Out behind the church is a cemetery, with headstones dating back into the 1800’s. It’s a quiet, peaceful place—as you can imagine. That day my Bible reading was in Psalm 115, which reminds us of God’s steadfast love, faithfulness, and protection, and how we should praise Him for His power and care for us.
As I thought on these things near the gravestones, I read the end of the Psalm: “The dead do not praise the LORD, nor do any who go down into silence” (Psalm 115:17). How true. Certainly, believers will praise God in heaven; but death silences our witness for Him here on earth.
So let our quiet times of meditation lead us to vocal praise of our great God! Generations of God’s followers have gone on, leaving their legacy of praise to us. It’s our time to worship and witness. Therefore, let us resolve: “we will bless the LORD from this time forth and forevermore. Praise the LORD!” (Psalm 115:18).
