Episode 22: Philippians 4:6-7
Dear friends, welcome to Peace Prayers. My name is Juli, and I would love to be able to spend some time with you today. What I'd like to do is read a Scripture from the Bible about peace, and then pray it together over our lives. That way we can have a few minutes to start our day with God's peace. I'm so excited to get started with you. Thank you for joining me today.
Today's verse is Philippians 4:6-7.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Let's pray together.
How wonderful, Jesus, that You have provided a way for us to deal with the anxious thoughts that so often plague us. It's not an easy world that we live in. There are so many things that can make us feel anxious or afraid. We have many struggles, many needs. Sometimes they're physical. Sometimes they're social. Sometimes they're emotional. But, Jesus, whatever struggles that we are facing, You've given us almost a formula here for how to deal with them.
We know that You have told us that we don't need to be afraid, that You're gonna take care of us, that we can trust in You to provide for us. And now this doesn't mean that we won't go through hard things and that we still live in a broken world, but, Jesus, it's so nice to know that when we have fears and anxiety, we can deliver that to You. We can pray and say, here's what I need.
You do tell us to do this with gratitude and thanksgiving. It's not enough just to treat You like a cosmic vending machine or somebody who can make all of our problems disappear, but we need to be grateful, for what You have given us because You have given us so much. And oftentimes it's when we look around and see how wonderful things truly can be because of You, that what we're worrying about isn't as big of a deal as we thought it was. Sometimes that's not true. Sometimes it really is a big deal, but a lot of the times we get so caught up in some petty concerns or just the overwhelming feeling of our emotions that we forget to remember what's real and solid around us.
And, above all this, God, it's not just that we do our part by presenting our request to You, by being grateful for what You've already given us. You said that there's a peace that surpasses understanding, something that we literally can't understand. There is no science. There is no experiments. There is nothing that is going to help us really understand what this peace is and what it can do for us. Sometimes that's worrisome, but I think that's actually really peaceful in and of itself. Because if You weren't God, then You would be understandable. I am so grateful that I will never truly be able to comprehend everything that You are because that means that I really can trust You to take care of everything else that I can't take care of on my own.
And it guards my heart, and it guards my mind. It helps me keep control over my emotions, and it helps me capture those anxious thoughts. And today, I think it's important for us to just acknowledge that these things are real. They do exist in the world. We have anxiety. We have fear. There is depression. There is brokenness. You can sit in that moment and just realize that it's okay to know that those things are there. You're not crazy for thinking or feeling them, and we need to have compassion on ourselves and on the people around us who are struggling with things, because it is very real.
And just giving platitudes or saying that things will eventually be okay, even quoting this verse is not going to necessarily make those feelings go away. We need to have compassion and to acknowledge that they're there, but help us be able to redirect the anxiousness and the fear back to You so that Your peace will instead guard our hearts and our minds. We can capture those anxious thoughts, just like Your word says. You've given us the tools to do so.
So today I pray for those who are feeling anxious and afraid, who are worried about the future, who are depressed by the brokenness that they see around them, by the injustice that they see, by all the mistakes that we've made as humanity. Today, as you feel those things, know that you're not alone and know that your feelings are valid.
But, Jesus, I pray that You would send that peace that passes understanding, that You would help us be grateful for the things that You've given us and for the fact that You are the most amazing thing that has been given to us. Help us to fall to our knees and say, God, help me. God, I need Your peace. And be open to receiving it, not blocking it out with more anxiety or thoughts that there can be no relief. Help us to redirect that energy up to You, to know that You are willing and able and You have the answer even if we can't fully understand it.
I do pray peace for you today. I pray peace for you, my friends. I pray peace for me. Let's open wide and receive all that Jesus has for us and be so grateful that He does.
In Your name, I pray Jesus. Amen.
Friends that is all for season one of Peace Prayers. Thank you so much to those of you who have joined me on this inaugural journey and have encouraged me by listening. I pray God has blessed you by it as He has me. I'm going to take a break for the rest of August and plan to return sometime in September. I'd love to be able to receive your feedback, to learn what has and has not worked for you as a listener.
I'd really appreciate it if you would join me over at thejulihernandez on Instagram and DM your thoughts and connect with me. I look forward to seeing you there.
