If the peace of Christ does
not rule our hearts, we can be sure of the diagnosis for our problem.
“Be careful for nothing; but
in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be
made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus” (Philippians
4:6-7).
The Apostle Paul proclaims a
bedrock guarantee that peace results from “prayer and supplication with
thanksgiving.” Making our requests
known unto God stills our hearts and minds, revealing a peace “which passeth all
understanding.” In Paul’s words,
however, there is a caveat. That
is, the prayers that still “hearts and minds” must proceed from hearts and minds.
“Keep thy heart with
all diligence; for out of it are the
issues of life” (Proverbs 4:23).
Mere rote prayers do
not suffice in challenges to our experience of the peace of God. We must rather approach our Lord
seriously, deliberately, thankfully, and with determination that we will pray in
accordance with His Word. “If ye
abide in Me, and My words abide
in you, ye shall ask what ye will, and it shall be done unto you” (John
15:7).
Peace is never a
matter of circumstance, situation or condition. Peace is a matter of grace, received by
faith. The heart at peace is the
heart that has genuinely prayed and supplicated with thanksgiving, the heart
that has made requests known unto
God in truth and reality. Again,
Paul, and more importantly, the Holy Spirit who inspired his words, promise us
that this is the case. Thus, if we
fail to experience the peace of Christ, we can know that which needs to
happen. We must approach our
Heavenly Father, seeking first His grace to enable us to genuinely pray, and
then expecting His grace to bestow tranquility of heart and mind. No supplicant who responded to this
truth ever found himself disappointed for doing so, and none ever will.
“To be carnally minded is
death; but to be spiritually minded is life and peace.”
(Romans 8:6)
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