DAY 4 - Peace Before the Answer
Day 4 Peace Before the Answer
Read slowly Philippians 4:4 through 9.
Paul writes about peace from prison. His circumstances are uncomfortable, unpredictable, and beyond his control. He is not offering a slogan from an easy life when he tells believers to bring everything to God in prayer.
He tells anxious people what to do with their fear: bring it to God.
Paul does not promise that every request will receive the outcome we prefer. He says God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The problem may still be present while that peace begins guarding what is happening within us.
Prayer does not require you to deny fear. You can seek treatment, make the phone call, set the boundary, ask for help, and pray. God’s peace keeps fear from ruling every decision.
Sometimes God changes what is around us. Sometimes he changes what is happening within us. Often he is working in both places in ways we cannot yet measure.
The circumstance may still matter deeply. The answer may still be delayed. But the unanswered question does not have to own your sleep, your joy, your relationships, or your ability to live today. You can ask for healing and ask for courage. You can ask for the relationship to be restored and ask God to keep bitterness from taking root. You can ask for the door to open and ask for wisdom while it remains closed.
Prayer brings the need to God, but it also brings us near to him. We need that relationship even before we receive the answer.
Think Honestly
• What is your unanswered prayer beginning to control in you?
• Besides the outcome you want, what work do you need God to do within you?
• What wise action can stand beside your prayer today?
Practice
Pray two requests instead of one. First, ask clearly for the circumstance to change. Then ask God to guard your heart, direct your next step, and give you what you need if the circumstance does not change today.
Pray
God, I ask you to move in what is around me and in what is hurting me. I also ask you to work within me. Guard my heart from fear, bitterness, and despair. Give me peace for this day and wisdom for the next faithful step. Amen.
Read slowly Philippians 4:4 through 9.
Paul writes about peace from prison. His circumstances are uncomfortable, unpredictable, and beyond his control. He is not offering a slogan from an easy life when he tells believers to bring everything to God in prayer.
He tells anxious people what to do with their fear: bring it to God.
Paul does not promise that every request will receive the outcome we prefer. He says God’s peace will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The problem may still be present while that peace begins guarding what is happening within us.
Prayer does not require you to deny fear. You can seek treatment, make the phone call, set the boundary, ask for help, and pray. God’s peace keeps fear from ruling every decision.
Sometimes God changes what is around us. Sometimes he changes what is happening within us. Often he is working in both places in ways we cannot yet measure.
The circumstance may still matter deeply. The answer may still be delayed. But the unanswered question does not have to own your sleep, your joy, your relationships, or your ability to live today. You can ask for healing and ask for courage. You can ask for the relationship to be restored and ask God to keep bitterness from taking root. You can ask for the door to open and ask for wisdom while it remains closed.
Prayer brings the need to God, but it also brings us near to him. We need that relationship even before we receive the answer.
Think Honestly
• What is your unanswered prayer beginning to control in you?
• Besides the outcome you want, what work do you need God to do within you?
• What wise action can stand beside your prayer today?
Practice
Pray two requests instead of one. First, ask clearly for the circumstance to change. Then ask God to guard your heart, direct your next step, and give you what you need if the circumstance does not change today.
Pray
God, I ask you to move in what is around me and in what is hurting me. I also ask you to work within me. Guard my heart from fear, bitterness, and despair. Give me peace for this day and wisdom for the next faithful step. Amen.
Posted in Daily Devotional