Protecting Our Peace

"In discussing the peace that surpasses comprehension, Philippians 4:6-7 uses four different terms for prayer, each signifying a different aspect of communication with God.  The first one is simply "prayer," which Paul uses to indicate general praying.  This would include daily conversation with the Lord, Scripture reading, and meditation upon God's Word.  One of the best preservers of your peace is a private time with God, when you talk to Him about your day, what you expect to happen, and even unforeseeable emergencies or distractions that may interrupt you.  What you are doing is remembering that He is in control of the details of your life.  You can thank Him and trust Him for what will come that day.

The second word is "supplication," which refers to "crying out."  It is the intense prayer offered when a situation causes feelings of desperation or deep burden.  Throughout Scripture, we see God hearing and answering when His people cry out to Him.  (Exodus 2:23-24; 1 Chronicles 5:20;
2 Chronicles 32:20-21; Jonah 2:2).  While there is an intensity to such a plea, we will not lose peace as long as we want God's way even more than we desire our own.

Next, he tells us to pray with thanksgiving.  The reason for expressing gratitude is that it gets our mind off what is challenging us at the moment and refocuses our thoughts onto God.  As we remember to be thankful, we are reminded of God's promises of how He has blessed us,  of His sovereign control over all details in our life.  Thanksgiving is not situation-centered prayer; it is God-centered, and when we are God-centered, we are going to have peace.

The last term he uses is "requests," which means asking God specifically for what we desire.  It implies that we ought to have a boldness in coming to Him because, as 1 John 5:14-15 says. "This is the confidence which we have before Him, that, if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us, and if we know that he hears us in whatever we ask, we know that we have the requests which we have asked from Him."

Can you name a single circumstance God is unable to handle?  There is not even one, no matter how trying, strenuous, sorrowful, perturbing, or painful it might be.  So when you are struck with a difficult situation, do not allow yourself to be anxious about it--remember that, while concern is a godly reaction, anxiety is not an appropriate Christian response.

Give your concern to God immediately, telling Him, "Father, I bring You this trial.  It is beyond my control, and I feel helpless in this situation.  You are omnipotent; You are omniscient; You are omnipresent.  I am resting in You and trusting that however you choose to handle this will be an expression of Your love, Your power, and Your desire to do what is best for me."  The peace of God will safeguard your heart from becoming unruly and your mind from being swept into anxiety.

Remember that you have one of two choices:  you can be earthly-minded or God-centered.  If your focus is not on the Lord, you will have great difficulty  lifting your heart and mind to get His perspective.  If you are focused on Him, you will have peace, no matter what.

The Prince of Peace--the Lord Jesus Christ--is the only real peace-giver (Isaiah 9:6)  If you have never trusted Him as your personal Savior, you have never experienced His wonderful, incomprehensible, perfect peace.  Receive Him today; the gift is yours for the asking."