02/07/2024
I found great value in the devotional message I read this morning. It contained a prescription for healing the doubt and fear in my life. Of course, the solution came from scripture and was simply expounded upon further by E.M. Bounds. The scripture reference I am referring to came from Philippians where Paul wrote of the power in praying in everything... Prayer is the medicine that heals all our woes, sorrows, and illnesses. Prayer give us the peace of God and will keep our minds fixed on Him through Jesus.
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving 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.”
Philippians 4:6-7 KJV
I thrill at the prospect of being blessed in my prayers with God’s peace, and am of one mind with the author of the devotion I read this morning. He writes these words about this scripture:
"This scripture verse is also the divine prescription for securing the peace that surpasses all understanding and keeps the heart and mind in quietness and peace." – E.M. Bounds
Bringing our cares and needs before the Lord provides us with the solution to anxiety in our lives. Trusting in Him to meet those needs is part and parcel to our faith, and the Word of God is His promise to us in that regard. Great strength and reassurance comes to us not just from praying, but from trusting that our prayers have been heard and will be acted upon by the God of all creation. Faith is based on the Word of God... and His word is truth, and His bond.
"Your word is your bond" was a phrase that my Quaker grandfather repeated over and over as I was growing up. If you couldn't count on a man to always do what he said he was going to do then you couldn't have confidence in him at all. I used to think that my grandfather coined that saying because it was so much a part of him, but it is actually attributed to Melvyn Douglas, a Jewish actor from Georgia, and is based on scripture and a continuing biblical theme:
“When thou vowest a vow unto God, defer not to pay it; for he hath no pleasure in fools: pay that which thou hast vowed. Better is it that thou shouldest not vow, than that thou shouldest vow and not pay.”
Ecclesiastes 5:4-5 KJV
God expects us to keep our word because He keeps His. When we pray expecting Him to hear our prayers and answer them, we should have unwavering faith in this… His integrity. So when troubles abound and we bring them before the Lord, we should likewise keep our word in whatever we promise Him. In this way we can rest in the fact that He has heard us and will answer our call for help. Often times the answer He provides us doesn’t come in a physical, or worldly way, but simply through our faith as we receive His peace that surpasses all understanding, His joy, and His rest. Sometimes we aren’t lifted out of the valley of the shadow of depth, but instead our hearts are comforted, and our fears are put to rest, because He is there walking through it with us. In this way God’s peace becomes our escape, or rescue.
“Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil: for thou art with me; thy rod and thy staff they comfort me.”
Psalm 23:4 KJV
I have a very dear friend that was having a tough time with a new manager he had at work, because this man was constantly putting him down and criticizing him. My friend’s response was to pray for his new boss, and afterwards he wrote me these words regarding God’s answer to his prayers…
“When I spoke with my manager again, after I shared my thoughts with him, once finished it wasn't that there was this big positive reaction. However, the doubt and fear that I had was not there and I had the peace that passes all understanding.”
We should come to realize as my friend did, that there are many times when our victories through God don’t come at the edge of His slashing sword on the battlefield, but with a small scalpel knife that circumcises our own hearts as we pray to the Lord in faith.
Prayer:
Father, thank you for hearing my every prayer, and thank you for your answer to each one. I thank you Lord for those times when you defeat my worldly enemies, but I thank you more for those times when you illuminate the real enemy, and show me that he is not so much in the world, but within me. I thank you for circumcising my heart, and preparing me to receive your word, and the spiritual victory you are winning within my soul. Thank you for the peace that comes to me when the victory is won within my heart, because it is far greater than anything I receive from those that are won for me in the world. Worldly victories have a beginning, and an end, but your spiritual victories are eternal. Help me Father to place your goodness, mercy, and grace, above the desire I have for retribution, vengeance, and achieving a sense of accomplishment in defeating another. Pour out your peace, rest, and comfort on me Abba, and open my eyes to the fact that it comes without the burden of hate, and the need to strike out in anger or bear malice for another. Holy, Holy, Holy, are you my God who does go to earthly battle for me, but who desires all the more to lead me to victory in spiritual warfare, and to love my enemies. Hear my prayers Holy Father, and give me the gift of your peace that defies all understanding as you answer each one of them in your perfect love, and will.
“Finally, be strong in the Lord and in the strength of his might. Put on the whole armor of God, that you may be able to stand against the schemes of the devil. For we do not wrestle against flesh and blood, but against the rulers, against the authorities, against the cosmic powers over this present darkness, against the spiritual forces of evil in the heavenly places. Therefore take up the whole armor of God, that you may be able to withstand in the evil day, and having done all, to stand firm.”
Ephesians 6:10-13 ESV
Rich Forbes