Prayer and the Peace of God
What is the
relationship between prayer and the peace of God?
Peace is a blessing from God
to His people (Ps. 29:11), and is made available through the work that Jesus
did on the cross (Col. 1:20; Isa. 53:5), and through the work that the Holy
Spirit is doing in our life (Gal. 5:22). Because Jesus is the very source of
our peace (Eph. 2:14), we can experience ongoing peace in any circumstances by
abiding in Him (Jn 16:33). In similar language the Old Testament tells us that
whoever remains steadfast (i.e. abides) in God’s Word will be kept in “perfect
peace” (Isa. 26:3).
The Bible has a lot to say
about God’s prescription for our peace. It certainly comes through prayer
(Phil. 4:6), but not prayer alone. The Bible tells us we must be in Christ (Jn
16:33), walking in faith (Romans 15:13), and living a godly life if we want to
experience the peace of God in our lives (Phil. 4:8-9).
When we seek to understand
the relationship that prayer and the peace of God have to one another, it is
important to realize why peace is a byproduct of prayer. The reason peace is a
byproduct of our prayer life, is because when we pray, we are entering into the
presence of the “God of peace” (Romans 16:20; 2 Cor. 13:11; Phil. 4:9; 1 Thess.
5:23; Heb. 13:20), who desires for us to experience His peace “at all times in
every way” (2 Thess. 3:16). It can be likened to my two year-old when he awakes
in the middle of the night from a bad dream. The only thing that is going to
bring him peace of mind, and remove the fear from his little heart, is if mommy
or daddy comes and holds him. The moment he feels our embrace, his little heart
begins calming down, he stops crying, and is able to go peacefully back to
sleep within a few minutes. It is no different for us as Christians. When we
enter into the presence of our Heavenly Father, who is the Father of mercies,
and God of all comfort (2 Cor. 1:3), He calms our hearts and fills us with His
peace.
This is certainly what the
apostle Paul had in mind when he wrote, “Be anxious for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be
made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding,
will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Phil. 4:6-7). It is by taking
our anxieties to God in prayer that enables us to experience His peace in our
lives. Jesus tells us something similar in Luke 18 where He shares a parable
saying, “that men always ought to pray and not lose heart” (Lk. 18:1). Here we
see that prayer puts us in a position to protect our hearts. The author of
Hebrews writes, “Let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace, that we
may obtain mercy and find grace to help in time of need” (Heb. 4:16). We see
that prayer also enables us to obtain mercy and find grace to help us in our
times of need.
When doing a brief overview
of what the Bible says about prayers and its connection to the peace of God, we
clearly see that it is God’s desire for us to experience His peace on an
ongoing basis, “at all times in every way!” And as long as we are abiding in
Christ (Jn 16:33), walking in faith (Romans 15:13), and living a godly life
(Phil. 4:8-9), we can expect to not only be filled with the peace of God
throughout the day (Romans 14:17), but also experience the peace of God each
and every time we enter into our prayer closet, which I believe is one aspect
of the “reward” Jesus says is waiting for us (Mt. 6:6).
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