# Quieting Day 2 > Come to Stillness: Take a few minutes to allow your mind and heart to be still before God. ### Opening Prayer: Uncrowd my heart, O God, until silence speaks in your still small voice; turn me from the hearing of words, and the making of words,and the confusion of much speaking, to listening, waiting, stillness, silence. ~Thomas Merton #### Psalm for the Week: Psalm 23 #### A Psalm of David. *23 The Lord is my shepherd; I shall not want. 2 He makes me lie down in green pastures. He leads me beside still waters.[a] 3 He restores my soul. He leads me in paths of righteousness[b] for his name's sake. 4 Even though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death,[c] I will fear no evil, for you are with me; your rod and your staff, they comfort me.* *5 You prepare a table before me in the presence of my enemies; you anoint my head with oil; my cup overflows. 6 Surely[d] goodness and mercy[e] shall follow me all the days of my life, and I shall dwell[f] in the house of the Lord forever.[g]* #### Scripture for the Day: Mark 1:29-39 #### Jesus Heals Many *29 And immediately he[a] left the synagogue and entered the house of Simon and Andrew, with James and John. 30 Now Simon's mother-in-law lay ill with a fever, and immediately they told him about her. 31 And he came and took her by the hand and lifted her up, and the fever left her, and she began to serve them.* *32 That evening at sundown they brought to him all who were sick or oppressed by demons. 33 And the whole city was gathered together at the door. 34 And he healed many who were sick with various diseases, and cast out many demons. And he would not permit the demons to speak, because they knew him.* #### Jesus Preaches in Galilee *35 And rising very early in the morning, while it was still dark, he departed and went out to a desolate place, and there he prayed. 36 And Simon and those who were with him searched for him, 37 and they found him and said to him, “Everyone is looking for you.” 38 And he said to them, “Let us go on to the next towns, that I may preach there also, for that is why I came out.” 39 And he went throughout all Galilee, preaching in their synagogues and casting out demons.* #### Reading for Reflection: *Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our lives are in danger. Somewhere we know that without silence words lose their meaning, that without listening speaking no longer heals, without distance closeness cannot cure. Somewhere we know that without a lonely place our actions quickly become empty gestures. The careful balance between silence and words, withdrawal and involvement, distance and closeness, solitude and community forms the basis of the Christian life and should therefore be the subjects of our most personal attention. Let us therefore look somewhat closer, first at our life in action, and at our life in solitude. (Out of Solitude by Henri J. M. Nouwen)* #### Reflection and Listening: silent and written #### Prayer: for the church, for others, for myself #### Song for the Week: Be Still My Soul *Be still, my soul: the Lord is on thy side.* *Bear patiently the cross of grief or pain.* *Leave to thy God to order and provide;* *In every change, He faithful will remain.* *Be still, my soul: thy best, thy heavenly Friend* *Through thorny ways leads to a joyful end.* *Be still, my soul: thy God doth undertake* *To guide the future, as He has the past.* *Thy hope, thy confidence let nothing shake;* *All now mysterious shall be bright at last.* *Be still, my soul: the waves and winds still know* *His voice Who ruled them while He dwelt below.* ### Closing Prayer: *O God of peace, who hast taught us that in returning and rest we shall be saved, in quietness and in confidence shall be our strength: By the might of thy Spirit lift us, we pray thee, to thy presence, where we may be still and know that thou art God; through Jesus Christ our Lord. Amen.(The Book of Common Prayer)*