children's christian magazine

STUDY PAGE 2
by Donna Huisjen
God’s Holy Temple
“The Lord is in his holy temple; let all the earth be
silent before him.” (Habakkuk 2:20)
As I mentioned on the first study page, I’m a grandma. So it’s pretty amazing that I still
remember words from a church service w-a-a-y back when I was two years old! I remember
them because at our church those words above, from the prophet Habakkuk, were repeated
every Sunday morning. They reminded us to be respectful in our worship.
A well-known Christian missionary named Mother Teresa knew about quiet reverence
before God. She once said, “God is the friend of silence. See how nature—trees, flowers,
grass—grows in silence; see the stars, the moon and the sun, how they move in silence. . . .
We need silence to be able to touch souls.”
There’s nothing wrong, of course, with noise, both in our worship and in our living. God
loves our energetic songs, our clapping, our dancing, and our shouts of praise. God loves
to hear happy children, like Malcolm and his friends, at play in his wonderful world. But he
also realizes that we can’t listen for his quiet voice unless we allow some time for stillness.
Think about it:
1) Are there some quiet times built in
to your church’s worship? At what points
in a service does your congregation get
quiet? Why is that important? What kind of
listening can you do in church?
2) Where is God’s holy temple? Do you
think Habakkuk meant only church, or could
the prophet have been thinking much closer
to “home”?
3) What parts of your church’s worship
do you think you’ll remember many years
from now? The singing? The prayers?
The readings? The praises? The children’s
sermon? Something else?
22 - The Kids’ Ark
Pray about it:
Thank you, Lord, for meeting me in
your holy temple—both on your special
day of the week and every day—and
night. Teach me to quiet down, even in
my praise and worship, enough to hear
and appreciate special words you might
have for me. Amen.