The Peace of God

One of the exciting aspects about prayer is that as you pray God enriches your life. Praying is one of those actions that works both in you and through you. A life of prayer is so much more than just asking the Lord to move in people’s lives or situations; it is not limited to reading off a list. Prayer is a sacred opportunity, when you pray you are entering into something divine.

As you read about the life of Christ in the Gospels you will notice that His praying, that His prayer life, was extremely important to Him. There were times that Jesus prayed instead of sleeping, or eating. To Him prayer was a lifeline, a source of life; it was an opportunity to have communion and relationship with the Father. As Jesus prayed and walked in close relationship with the Father He was able to experience the heavenly here on the earth. Yes, He did miracles, but there was more, there was the ability to walk in the world without becoming a part of it.

One of my favorite acts of Christ was when He calmed the storm; He simply spoke and brought peace to the situation. I believe this natural act was a representation of His spiritual life, that His relationship with the Father was so close that the clamoring circumstances (the storms of pressure and stress in the world) were not able to impact His life. The communion with the Lord was so real and so powerful, that the things of the world could not displace it.

This scripture from Philippians is one that represents some of what I am presenting to you.

Phil 4:4-7

⁴Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!

⁵Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.

⁶Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; ⁷and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

In these verses we are exhorted to rejoice, to be gentle, and not to be anxious - and to pray with thanksgiving. The result of doing this is that the peace of God will guard our hearts and our minds.

The peace of God being a guard for our minds, what a blessing; that itself is a great motivation to be praying with an attitude of thanksgiving. In this hectic world we live in having the people of God is a miracle in itself.

But this is not the end of the story.

This section on prayer continues with verses 8 and 9. These verses speak of going past thanksgiving, and into a mindset that focuses on the positives.

Phil 4:8-9

⁸Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy--meditate on these things. ⁹The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you.

This section of scripture is very popular with many, and rightly so. It encourages us to focus on the heavenly (Col 3:2, set your mind on things above), and let those things be what we fill our thoughts with. Take a few moments and look at these verses in some other Bible translations; it will help to show you the wonder that is being presented.

The first section of verses, addressed above, spoke of the peace of God. As stated this can be a rare commodity in the world today. Knowing the peace of God is fantastic, and something that all people should be able to experience. This is great, yet the second section of verses, 8 and 9, go beyond just knowing an attribute of God. For as we focus on Him and press in and know the God of peace.

This is experiencing communion with the Lord, this is knowing Him, it is not knowing about Him or just seeing the things He does. This is having a relationship with the God of peace.