Be Thankful In Everything — And Peace Will Come
“…but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” (Philippians 4:6)
When I thank God, even for difficult situations, my focus is turned to God, who must intervene and help in order to resolve it, rather than on my limited resources. Oh, I’m not necessarily thankful about the hardship, but in the hardship I know that God will somehow use this for my good, that God will develop needed character in my life, or that God will develop in me a more compassionate ministry, among other reasons.
When you come to God in intimate prayer and lay your burdens at his feet, the Bible says there will be a result. “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:7).
I can be at peace in times when there is no peace, in circumstances in which I should not have peace. I can be at peace while I’m waiting for him to fulfill his promise to me, which is to meet the need that I’ve brought to him.
A good example of this comes from the life of Lawrence “Gunner” Payne, the man who led me to the Lord. On the evening of the most agonizing day of his life, when he had just learned of his daughter’s murder, his family gathered around the supper table, though no one could really eat much. Father, mother, son, and their remaining daughter linked hands to give thanks for the food. With their grief still fresh, Gunner prayed, “Father, we don’t understand, but we trust you.”
I’m not sure he realized it at the time, but that prayer would dramatically change his life. He was, in essence, praying the ultimate prayer of faith. He acknowledged his trust in God, and thereby acquiesced to his will.
But will we always experience that peace immediately? There are some circumstances in my life where I have not been able to get any peace. I’ve gone back again and again. I’ve gotten tired of praying “Oh, God!” I’ve gotten humiliated and depressed from talking about it. I’ve wanted to run away from things, but just couldn’t get away from it.
I’ve discovered you can still have a kind of peace in those circumstances. And it’s the peace of being able to come to God and talk about everything. It’s the peace of being driven to your knees when circumstances are in control of your life that are dire and difficult.
It’s coming to God and saying, “Oh, God, here I am again. Have mercy. Deal with this situation, Father.” There is a feeling when the bubbles quiet down, the steam stops, and the heat comes off, and that release comes.
Then, you can pray, “When I’m going through these valleys, Father, it’s so good to know you’re on the other side. It’s so good, when I feel caught in the darkness, to know there’s light. It’s so good when I’m lonely that there’s someone, like you, Father, who loves me.”
The peace that Gunner demonstrated by that simple prayer was an indication of his intimacy with the Lord. God’s promise to him and to us, too, no matter how often we have to come to him, is a peace that the world cannot understand.
John Wimber, Prayer: Intimate Communication (Anaheim: Vineyard Ministries International, 1997), 19-20.
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