Philippians 4:4-8
4 Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice.
5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things.
9 Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.
When we read these verses, it gives us a list of things we need to do if we’re going to enter in the peace of God and into the presence of the God of peace. Just reading these verses won’t get you peace. But doing what these verses say will.
So here’s the checklist when you need the peace of God.
“Rejoice in the Lord always”
Rejoice means to be glad. This is not an adjective. It’s a verb. It means to delight in, to be conscious of and to experience God’s grace. This is an attitude check.
“Let your gentleness be evident to all”
This is spiritual discipline. In other words, make sure you continue to conduct yourself as a child of God. This is a behavior check.
“Do not be anxious about anything”
This word anxious, means distracted; drawn in opposite directions. This is a focus check.
“In every situation, by prayer”
Make sure you are talking “to” God and not “at” Him. Make sure you’re connected with His presence. Make sure you’re intentionally seeking Him, His face. Make sure you have an expectation for God to respond. This is an intention check.
“and by petition”
This is a heart-felt supplication and request arising out of deep personal need. We know what we want from God. But do we know what we need from Him?) Do we know what really matters? (priority check)
with thanksgiving. This is a gratitude, humility and pride check
Notice that all of these things require us to have a specific heart posture. This is not just about what you say to God. It’s about the heart behind what we say to Him.
This heart posture is what the enemy wants to bully us out of. He doesn’t want us to delight in God’s grace. He doesn’t want us to conduct ourselves in a holy way. He doesn’t want us to be focused or intentional. He wants us to be prideful and to seek sufficiency within ourselves.
This is why when we’re having a hard time walking in faith, we don’t have the best attitudes. We don’t behave righteously. We’re focused on the wrong things. Our prayer lives are weak or self-absorbed. And we lack humility.
The verse says once you get your heart in the right place, now you can present your requests to God.
Why do you think it’s important to have your heart in the right place when requesting something from God?
James 4:3,7
3 When you ask, you do not receive, because you ask with wrong motives, that you may spend what you get on your pleasures.
7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
So when I do my part, God does His. He ushers us into a place of peace. Our part requires discipline and temperance. And then, God does for us what we can’t do for ourselves. That is to bring us into a place of peace.
*Tressa Jo
BeyondSeeLevel 