Yesterday, we spent some time reflecting on anxiety. In our musings, we concluded with prompts to counter anxiety and then we prayed. I think a few of us might have thought, ‘What next?’, and here it is. Consider Today’s Holy Nougat.
Philippians 4:6-7 NIV
[6] Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
[7] And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
PUSH and PUPH
Sometimes in our walk with God, it may feel as if God doesn’t get it – can you imagine always rejoicing in the Lord? There are days when rejoicing is the furthest thing from our minds. Even Y’shua understood, for He said those who mourn will be comforted. And that’s exactly the point. In our moments of grief, we can rejoice, because God will send comfort. That’s what we hear a couple of verses before our Nougat. While counselling the Philippian church about a di-vision, Paul commended the church to do just that, to rejoice always.
In his follow-up argument, Paul noted that Christ is present or nearby, hence our actions must reflect that awareness. Now you might be like me, who thought it was saying Christ’s return was imminent – and that is also possible – but as I read the pericope today, I’m struck by the possibility that Paul was referring to our Christian witness. We rejoice and live in moderation because we know Christ is present. Whichever interpretation we choose, it is obvious that Paul knows this is unattainable on our own, hence the invitation to combat anxiety with prayer. But he didn’t stop at praying. There’s more.
Self-Check
Do we ever get frustrated after prayer owing to a delayed response?
Digging Deeper
Someone once coined the phrase, Pray Until Something Happens- PUSH. It might have emerged from Y’shua Jesus’ illustration on prayer in Mark 12 and Luke 21. If we are among those who get frustrated when nothing seems to happen, I’m proposing that we Pray Until Peace Happens. It could be the ‘Something’ we’re waiting for. When we discover (as David did) that prayer isn’t so much about changing God’s mind as it is about inviting God’s will, we will find that as we pray, we seek confirmation of God’s amen.
In 2 Samuel 12, David found God’s amen through the death of his son for whom he’d been constantly praying. It was hard to accept, and his servants were worried, but David found the strength to live again. Ironically, in the instances of a dead Lazarus, and also that of the dying daughter; the families found God’s amen after the death of their loved ones. I’m sorry folks, God’s amen isn’t easily predicted. If they had only Prayed Until Anything Happened, they might have missed God’s amen. And we know that neither Martha nor Mary had peace about Lazarus’ death until after Y’shua intervened, and pronounced His resurrection amen.
You see siblings, when we Pray Until Peace Happens, we are declaring to God, ‘Your will be done, on earth as in Heaven’. We not only acquiesce to God’s will, but we also allow God’s peace to confirm that it is so. We find that example in Y’shua’s prayer, If it is Your will, allow me to avoid this bitter cup – But I yield my human self to Your Spirit, may Your will be done. For in that moment, Y’shua prayed the prayer of a human.
In concluding I’ll remind us, prayer doesn’t prohibit bad things from coming our way; rather prayer allows us to discern and act according to God’s will. So, we Pray Until Something Happens, recognising that that ‘Something’ includes God’s Peace.
Point to Ponder
Are we open to receiving God’s peace if God’s amen doesn’t match ours? PUPH!
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May all we seek be found in Christ
