Prayer Focus: The Fruits of the Spirit:: PEACE.
Central Scripture: “Therefore, since we have been justified through faith, we have peace with God through our Lord Jesus Christ.” (Romans 5:1)
Prayer:
Gracious Father, thank You for the gift of reconciliation with You. In our lowest, most depraved moments, You saw only Your precious children and longed to bring us back to Yourself. Thank You for making a way, and thank You for removing any and all reason for us to feel guilt, shame, or separation from You.
Lord, as my family moves and breathes and grows in our faith in Christ, please help us to live lives of peace. We are reconciled to You as soon as we believe, and I pray that our lives would be defined by reconciliation – with you, with people around us, and even with ourselves. Let there be no strife or hostility in our hearts, but only the peace that surpasses all understanding.
God, if we are at peace with You – and You promise that we are – then there is nothing in this world that should be able to rock our sense of wellbeing. If You are for us, nothing and no one can be against us; we still act, though, like worry and fear and stress will accomplish something. Please forgive us for the countless ways that we take our eyes off You and act as though we cannot trust You.
As my husband goes through his days as head of our family and our home, I pray that Your Spirit would fill Him with peace. I know that the burdens he carries are heavy, and I know that I often fall short of my holy calling to be his helper. The things asked and expected of him are great, and I know his heart has many opportunities to choose worry or fear over peace. I pray instead that no matter what is going on around him…no matter what particular load he is carrying…no matter what is being asked of him at any particular moment, that he would rest in his standing with You. No, that won’t make everything easy, but I pray that simply knowing that he is at peace with the God who adores him will put things into perspective. Grant him peace, God.
And Father, as my children face things that generations before never dreamed of, please let them have peace. Please fill their little hearts and minds with an all-surpassing peace, knowing that they belong to the God who is in control…the God who does not abandon a work once He has begun it…the God who knit them together and sustains their every breath. Please help them to be beacons of peace in a scary world. I pray against fear and anxiety and sadness. I pray that only the things that survive in the light would be permitted to remain. I pray for peace, Lord.
Father, thank You that we don’t have to be subject to the changing winds of the world. Thank You that no matter what happens around us, we can cling to and rest in You. We are children of peace, God, and I pray that peace would abound more and more every day.
Amen.