SILENCE AND CENTERING – 2 MINUTES
PRAYER FOR PRESENCE: “LORD MANIFEST YOUR PRESENCE TO US, THAT WE WOULD EXPERIENCE YOUR NEARNESS AND POWER.”
SCRIPTURE: Philippians 4:4-7
DEVOTIONAL:
Our thoughts frequently terrorize us. They magnify
our fears and intensify our desires. Even when we
recognize their deleterious effect on us, it is hard
to counter their deep grip on how we perceive and
respond to life.
In this passage, Paul gives us three practices
for dealing with our thoughts. These are not
commands, but exercises for enacting our trust
and faith in God. The first is to embrace joy in the
Lord always, not as a feeling but as an act of faith.
The second is to let our gentleness (or kindness)
be known to everyone—not because we feel like
it, but because we trust in the Lord’s nearness.
And the third is to turn our worries into prayers of
thanksgiving and supplication.
When we trust God as we do these exercises,
we enact the peace of God—which, because it
surpasses all our thoughts, is able to guard our
hearts and minds in the Messiah, Jesus
SPACE FOR REFLECTION: (WHICH WORD OR PHRASE STANDS OUT TO YOU. WHAT MIGHT GOD BE SAYING TO YOU?)
PRAYER:
Dear God, give us power to exercise our faith—to live
our life as a continual prayer—so that your peace,
which far surpasses all our thoughts, might guard our
hearts and minds in the Messiah, Jesus. Right now—
and throughout the day. Amen.
