I don’t know about you, but I occasionally suffer from a lack of peace. Life seems to throw stuff at me that I don’t know how to handle, and difficult relational situations cause me to lose sleep. When this happens, negative emotions can get the better of me. I can drift toward frustration, anger, or despair. Honestly, I tend to believe that I can think my way out of anything (probably sounds arrogant—guilty!), but the harder I dig into finding solutions to situations that are out of my control, the more out of control my emotions get. God has a better way.
The Apostle Paul [By the way, why we don’t tend to use the word “apostle” very much these days, the meaning was quite simple. The word comes from the Greek word which means “to be sent out as an emissary on behalf of a superior.” Paul was sent out by Jesus on a special mission—to take the good news to the Gentile world (see Acts 9:15)] wrote to his Christian friends in the Macedonian city of Philippi with these words.
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7).
Peace that transcends understanding? Yep. I think Paul was saying that when we comprehend who God is and apprehend what he has accomplished for us, we’ll gain a peace that will blow our minds.
So, how do prayer and thanksgiving guard our hearts? Many religions pray, but most don’t make this claim of peace that we find in the Bible. Buddhists claim that prayer brings peace. One traditional Buddhist prayer goes like this. “May all beings have happiness and the causes of happiness; May all be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow….” May all be free from sorrow and the causes of sorrow. That sounds wonderful. The big problem is that their sources of our pain, sorrow, and confusion remain when they have completed their prayers. The same applies to us.
While I believe in miracles (As an aside, we call them miracles because they aren’t normal.), the reality is that our challenges usually continue to exist after we have prayed. So, where does this peace come from?
It’s critical that we grasp the peace that passes understanding—the peace OF God—not the peace FROM God. The fruit of the Spirit contains peace. The key here is that it is God’s peace that guards our hearts. The word “guards” is used for a military garrison that protects a city. These guards are not running around frantically, wondering what their role is. They stand shoulder to shoulder—unwavering in their task.
Our heavenly Father knows and superintends over his perfect plan for us. When we pray and give him thanks for his care, we relinquish the role of protecting the city—understanding that he has everything in control. So, we pray, settle into the rest God promises, and then experience the peace he provides.
Are you stressed today? Are you running around frantically within the walls of your city trying to make sure that everything is in place? Stop! Pray. Look outside those city walls. Acknowledge that God has your front and back. And then, find that peace that he has promised.
