My apologies if the title of this post gave you flashbacks to Elsa in the Disney movie, “Frozen.” My sincerest apologies if that song will now be stuck in your head for the rest of the day. Sometimes, even phrases like this one, ripe with a whole range of meanings and emotions depending on the number of times your young child forced you to hear it in the movie, again, ring an important truth we shouldn’t overlook.
Take David’s simple words in Psalm 46:10,
“Be still, and know that I am God. I will be exalted among the nations, I will be exalted in the earth!”
Woven down into that simple command he gives us to recognize God’s supremacy and worthiness lies this phrase, “Let it go.” When we dig down into the meanings of words in the Scriptures, we see layers of application we may miss with just a passing glance. That little word translated “be still” beckons us to let our hands hang limp in such a way that our limbs have lost their muscle tone to flex and respond.
Spiritually, he’s telling us that stillness before God requires empty hands, a released grip, and a relaxed tension. Stillness before God requires that we come to Him without hedged bets. In other words, we aren’t placing our confidence in our own wisdom or relying on our resources. To be still is to “let it go.” Let go of your tightened grip on your anxieties. Unwrap your fingers from confidence in your financial or emotional or intellectual stability. Hold up two empty hands before God unlatched to anyone or anything else but Him.
For me, I have been learning so much about prayer from Jesus’ Model (Matthew 6:9-13) and His exemplary, perfect prayer life. One of the most powerful and challenging images of prayer I keep coming back to is this idea of empty hands before God. As I pray, I am to hold to nothing else but Him. I am to let “it” go, whatever “it” happens to be. I am to be still, empty handed, before Him.
So the next time you hear Elsa belt out those words, “Let it go,” remember God wants you to pray to Him that way. And let it go before Him.
If you’re interested in learning more of what I’ve been learning from Jesus’ Model Prayer and His own prayer life, you can pick up a copy of my book, Pray Like This, here.
Typestry 