Prayer to Peace

"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." I was led to that scripture yesterday when I wondered what on earth to say to yall today (it's Phillipians 4: 6-7 in the event you want to search the scriptures for yourself lol). It was one of those things that you glance at one time...and can't stop digging into 5 hours later. So let's break this down (Tuesday/Wednesday night Bible Study style) take a journey through it all together, k? It'll be sweet, simple, and (hopefully) short (lol).

First, I want us to never forget the order of this scripture: prayer before peace. Verse 6 will forever come before verse 7, right? For years, I've heard people preach & teach about only verse 6 or only verse 7, but there's a certain power that comes in pairing them together. Most, if not all, of the moments in which I received God's peace came as a result of somebody's prayers. Literally it basically says: 'step 1: pray...about everything; step 2: be guarded by peace that doesn't match human logic'. That's really it. The mistake a lot of us make is we want the peace, but we never stop to ask for it. We get mad and stressed because God hasn't given us something...that we never asked for. Always remember: prayer before peace. Ok, now that we've covered that, here are a few phrases that really stuck out to me, and will hopefully help you out too...

• "everything": This is not restricted to whatever you feel is out of your control. I've learned that when God says everything, it's not code for whatever we want to give to Him because we can't handle it. When He says everything, He actually means...everything. Like...all things pertaining to you. The pieces of your life that you can handle. The pieces of your life that could go either way. The pieces of your life that make you realize that you are not as big and/or bad as you thought you were. He wants you to come to Him about all of it. Why? Because He actually cares. God can't get enough of your voice. And while He can fix anything, I've realized that sometimes He will only fix the things that you bring to Him. Now, if you're anything like me, you have adjusted to having to do a lot of things for yourself by yourself. You are used to carrying your burdens and a couple of burdens from those around you. That makes this whole 'taking everything to God' thing a little rough. It makes sense to take what hurts me to The Healer, but it took a while to take what made me happy to Him as well. If this is you, & you understand what I'm saying, pay close attention to my next words: do it anyway. God has a way of making your bad days good, and your good days great...if you give Him everything. The goal is not to be healed in one specific area; the goal is to be whole, which means that all of you has to grow together. Don't give God your wallet, and hold your love life to yourself. They're all connected. Don't stop at being healed...be whole. 
  • sidenote: 'supplication' is one of church words that people rarely stop to define, so I'm going to help yall out if you are like I was and had no idea. It means "the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly". You're welcome haha
• "with thanksgiving":  Last week, one of my friends was having health issues and I recommended that she go to the hospital. Once she got to the hospital, things seemed to go from bad to reallllllllly bad. I felt guilty for telling her to go, I was terrified because she's hours away, and I couldn't do anything to help. The last thing I said to help seemingly increase the terror of the situation. I had prayed quickly right after she gave me an update, but I couldn't concentrate, so I stopped to pray again (boo hoo-ing like a baby yall lol). Before I could get a word out, I heard God say, "are you coming to me from a place of victory? Or from a place of defeat?" It's not just important that you take everything to God in prayer & supplication, it's also important that you come to Him believing that your victory lies in Him. After He asked me that, I had to change my tone. I went from "God, I don't know what You're doing here. Did I do more harm than helping?" to "God, I don't know all the details, but I know You're the only one with the power to pull her through. So I need You to pull her through." Long story short, she came to see me last weekend, and she's a lot better today than she was last week. 
• "the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding":  I call this peace 'senseless peace'. Senseless peace is amazing because you are forever unbothered. Senseless peace is at it's peak when hell breaks loose in your life...and you acknowledge said hell...and keep living life the way God intended. It makes you look rather foolish, but I don't mind looking like a fool when I know I'm not one (haha). There have been plenty of moments when I didn't know how things would work out, but I didn't freak out. Why? Senseless peace. Most people say they have peace when everything is going well, and they've finally reached a happy space. I like senseless peace better because it's around when I really need it. It steps beyond logic. It steps out of what you think you know. It steps out of facts, and right into truth. Senseless peace comes from places you can't quite go to get you what you need. It helps you to be steady when everybody else is in a panic, because you know who's got you. And once you know who's got you, it shifts from 'here's my list of worries' to '....worry for what?' (that's like the ultimate goal...that I haven't completely attained yet hahaha) 
  
• "will guard your hearts and minds": I like...words (clearly lol), so the fact that God's peace guards our hearts and minds quickly caught my attention. It's almost as if God realized way back when that good hearts don't always overcome bad minds. You can have all the entire Bible in your heart...and still sin in your thoughts. OR, you can believe that God is for you, and be attacked mentally to the point where you wonder if He even knows you exist. However, because our God is one of completion, His peace can and will guard your heart (what you know is right), and your mind (what you actually...or reallllly want to do). 
  
• "through Christ Jesus": Do me a favor: imagine Jesus on a cross. Now imagine yourself standing behind that cross. That's the picture that always comes to mind when I read things like this. My standing behind the cross does not mean that nothing negative is coming for me. It doesn't even mean that nothing will hit or hurt me. It does, however, mean that whatever hits me has to go through Him. And if it goes through Him, He knows how it hurts, and how to heal it. It's not that God will forever be some magical forcefield that keeps us from bad days. He's the strength & total peace that we need to get through the bad days to the great ones.

Final piece & I'm done (because I've definitely taken enough of your time): I can't think of one situation where freaking out in surgery has ever helped a patient. I would think that's why they anesthetize you before they start the operation. So if you're going through a storm (or a hurricane...or what may very well feel like a tsunami), please recognize that you freaking out won't help as much as you need it to. Sometimes, God will allow certain things to increase our hunger for Him. That sounds incredibly rude to some people, but when you really recognize who God is, it's actually kind of sweet (haha). God has everything...EVERYTHING...under His control. He wants to help you. He wants to bring you through. But, He also wants you to have the right connections and lessons when it's all over. Bringing you out before you've learned everything would make this storm a waste of your time & energy. Bringing you out without the victory would make the past few weeks, months, or years of your life....empty. To win long after the storm is over, you're going to need Him & His peace. How do you get Him & His peace? Prayer. What makes most of us pray harder than ever? Storms (or hurricanes...or tsunamis). So wherever you are, and whatever you're going through, do yourself a favor, and ask God for senseless peace. It's bomb.com. Trust me, I should know. 

Background Music: Solid Rock - Tasha Cobbs 

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