Be Still for the Presence of the Lord

{{short description|British hymn}}

{{Infobox musical composition

| name = "Be Still for the Presence of the Lord"

| type = Hymn

| image =

| alt =

| caption =

| occasion =

| text = by David J. Evans

| meter = irregular

| melody = by David J. Evans

| published = {{Start date|1986}}

}}

"Be Still for the Presence of the Lord" is a contemporary hymn written by British songwriter David J. Evans in 1986.{{cite web|last1=Benner|first1=Steve|title=Be still, for the presence of the Lord|url=http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/b/b013.html|website=Oremus Hymnal|accessdate=30 June 2014|date=2004|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20150214014743/http://www.oremus.org/hymnal/b/b013.html|archive-date=14 February 2015|url-status=dead}} Evans was involved in the charismatic movement but felt that some of its worship risked treating God in a trivial fashion.{{cite book |last1=Reeves |first1=Marjorie |last2=Worsley |first2=Jenyth |date=2001 |title=Favourite Hymns: 2000 Years of Magnificat |url=https://books.google.com/books?id=4J7Yhny4ZeAC&pg=PA197 |location= |publisher=A&C Black |page=197 |isbn=9780826477231 }} Specifically, he was inspired by the phrase in the Old Testament – "then Jacob awoke from his sleep and said 'surely the Lord is in this place and I did not know it.'" Also inspirational was Exodus 3: 1–6, where Moses met the Yahweh at the burning bush.{{cite web |last1=Albert |first1=Samuel |title=Be Still For The Presence of The Lord Lyrics and Story Author: David J Evans |url=https://www.christianmusicandhymns.com/2016/10/be-still-for-presence-of-lord.html}}

This hymn has been heard on the BBC's Songs of Praise{{Cite web | url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/programmes/p00cxtr5 |title = BBC One - Songs of Praise, Beverley Minster, be still, for the presence of the Lord}} and was voted as one of the UK's 10 most popular hymns in 2019.{{cite web |title=World War One hymn is nation's favourite |url=https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-49871456 |website=BBC |date=29 September 2019}}