CHAPTER 3
"...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." -- Phil. 4:6,7
When we make our requests known unto God by
prayer and supplication with thanksgiving we are assured of receiving His peace
through Christ Jesus. When we enter into the sacred Presence of the Prince of
Peace, we enter into the place of perfect peace. The house of prayer is the
sanctuary of peace.
Paul would have us understand that Christ imparts
a measure of His own peace to our worshipping hearts when we make everything
pertaining to life a matter of prayer. We can readily comprehend the
possibilities of prayer when we perceive that mortal man can obtain a measure
of the peace which the God of Peace possesses in His divine nature. It is not
necessary for the children of God to enter heaven in order to enjoy the
priceless possession of peace. Christ wills to give the heavenly heritage of
His Peace to all the sons of God. He revealed this truth when He said,
"Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you: not as the world giveth,
give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid." --
John 14: 27
It is obviously true that Jesus has purposed that
His own peace shall give His praying and believing people untroubled hearts in
this world of trouble. He would have us understand that His own perfect peace
shall confirm us in hope, and comfort us in heart. It is apparent that this
heavenly heritage of the heart can be obtained in answer to prayer. God's
peace is an essential quality of His divine nature. We saw His peace
manifested in Jesus Christ, The Prince of Peace. Jesus was never excited and
perturbed by the trickery and hypocrisy of the religious leaders of His day.
He never lost His spiritual poise when persecuted and slandered by His
enemies.
Jesus was always calm and composed in the time of
trial. He was never intimidated by the threats of violence. He had an
indomitable courage that confounded His critics. He never compromised truth to
gain favor with men. His sublime silence in the hour of His trial caused the
multitude to marvel. A faithful witness of the Saviour's sufferings said:
"...Christ also suffered for us, leaving us an example, that we should
follow in his steps: who did no sin, neither was guile found in his mouth: who,
when he was reviled, reviled not again; when he suffered, he threatened not;
but committed himself to him that judgeth righteously." -- 1 Peter 2:21-23
Peter's testimony enables us to see how the peace of God behaves in this world
of turmoil and strife. The quality of God's peace was exemplified in the
sinless character and conduct of the Saviour. His life revealed the inherent
nature of God's peace which passeth all understanding. God has designed that
His peace shall keep our hearts and minds. He would have us understand that
His peace shall be our guard when we make our requests known unto Him in
prayer. When once we grasp the truth about this, and give it an important
place in daily life, we will know what it means to possess the peace of God
which passeth all understanding.
The heart is the center of man's spiritual being.
It is the citadel of his immortal soul. The ambitions, the aspirations, and
the affections reside in the heart. The will, the conscience, and the desires
dwell in the heart of man. The Word says,
"Keep thy heart with all diligence; for out of it are the issues of life."
Prov. 4:23
It is God's purpose to expel the indwelling sin of the soul by the power of the
indwelling Spirit, and impart peace to man's heart.
"...The work of righteousness shall be peace; and the effect of
righteousness quietness and assurance for ever." -- Isa. 32:17
When Jesus said. "...Let not your heart be
troubled, neither let it be afraid," He implied that it was possible to be
delivered from the perplexing troubles and agitating fears incident to life in
this world. The peace of God can banish all our burdensome bewilderment's and
fill our yearning hearts with comfort and contentment. God is willing to make
the citadel of our souls the stronghold of His garrison of peace. He wills to
make our hearts an impregnable fortress of spiritual power. His peace will
mount guard over our hearts and minds like a sentinel appointed to keep watch
over a city. Paul added to our comfort when he said,
"...The God of peace shall be with you." -- v.9.
He is saying that we can have the peace of God within, and God of peace
without.
When Paul speaks of the mind he is evidently
speaking of the intellect, the feelings, and the understanding. We have the
capacity to think and to reason about the things of God. We are capable of
having the truth of God revealed to us by the Holy Spirit. It is not possible
to comprehend the peace of God without the help of the Spirit. We cannot
analyze the peace of God in the laboratory of the human mind to ascertain its
true nature; neither can we discover the component parts of God's peace by the
methods of modern science and philosophy. His peace passeth all human
understanding. There are times when our minds are sorely perplexed by the
problems confronting us in this uncertain world. There are times when we
cannot depend on our reasoning to find the answer to life's trials and
tribulations. Jesus said,
"...In the world ye shall have tribulation: but be of good cheer; I have
overcome the world." -- John 16:33
Life has no fears and death holds no terrors for
the soul fortified by the eternal peace of Christ. He is our peace and our
protection. The peace received in answer to prayer does not prevent the
problems of life from perplexing us; but His peace does prevent these trials
from triumphing over us.
There will be times when our feelings will
contradict our faith. Sickness can depress our emotions to such an extent that
we are disposed to doubt our relationship to Christ. When we are sick, when
our nerves are tense, when we are constantly on the verge of tears, our faith
will be submerged by our feelings. In such times of trial it seems that the
joy of the Lord has departed, and we are tempted to think that for some unknown
reason we are suffering the displeasure of the Lord. Our confused state of
mind is caused by our illness. The loving Lord has not been grieved by our
infirmities of body and mind.
There will be times in life when we seem to stand
on the brink of an impassable gulf which the human understanding cannot cross.
When we come to the place where reasoning ends and despair begins, we will
discover that Christ's protective peace is like a bridge that spans the gulf
which our own limited understanding cannot cross. The infirmities of the body
can cause the imagination to run wild. Sickness can cause many fantastic ideas
and strange impressions to disturb and confuse our minds. Some unhappy people
imagine they are being tormented by evil spirits. Some think their nervous
disorders are caused by some strange power of Satan. These distressing nervous
disorders and groundless fears are caused by their physical condition. A just
and holy God will not allow His praying and trusting people to become the
unwilling victims of satanic power. He has provided a peace to garrison their
hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
A few devout individuals have been tormented by
the fear that they have committed the unpardonable sin. Some have been so
completely engulfed by this terrifying thought that they have abandoned all
hope. These misguided persons have allowed themselves to become victims of
their own confused state of mind. The terrifying thought that they have
forfeited all hope of salvation exists only in their overwrought imaginations.
If these troubled souls will exercise faith in a merciful and faithful Christ,
and humbly ask Him for help and hope, their groundless fears will immediately
pass away, and the peace of God will comfort their troubled hearts.
The Saviour has paid a great price to redeem us
from all iniquity. He will not withhold His saving mercy and grace from any
seeking soul longing with all the heart to please Him in all things. The peace
of God will prevent us from becoming the hapless prey of our distraught minds
if we will pray without ceasing, and continue to believe on the name of the Son
of God. When Jesus said, "...Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be
afraid," He intended to impress us with the fact that we can prevent the fears
and troubles from entering our hearts and minds. He expects us to keep our
minds stayed on Him. The inspired prophet saw this fact when he said,
"Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee; because
he trusteth in thee." -- Isa. 26:3
The Psalmist said,
"Cast thy burden upon the Lord, and he shall sustain thee: he shall never
suffer the righteous to be moved." -- Psa. 55:22
If we continue to make our requests known unto
God by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, He will not suffer us to be
moved by the forces of evil in this disquieted earth.
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