PEACE (eirene) – to join peace; quiet prosperity; harmonious inner being and relationship with God and men; a sense of resting; contentment; freedom established on a Person that is self-contained; it does not denote the absence of conflict rather the overwhelming presence of God’s shalom; a state of completeness, perfection, integrity, serenity, security, and supernaturally passing human understanding and worldly circumstances.
1 Thessalonians 5:23-24 TPT
Now, may the God of peace and harmony set you apart, making you completely holy. And may your entire being—spirit, soul, and body—be kept completely flawless in the appearing of our Lord Jesus, the Anointed One. 24 The one who calls you by name is trustworthy and will thoroughly complete his work in you.
Brief: Peace is not a possession of God, it is who God is. Just as God is love, He is also peace, For He Himself is our peace (Eph. 2:14a). The Hebrew word for peace is “shalom” which is all inclusive of serenity, security, and an inner calm. However the shalom of God goes above and beyond these, in that, it literally translates into a state of being complete, lacking nothing; something totally sound; containing integrity within itself without fracture, failure, or flaw; its presence displaces divisions, chaos, strife, animosity, anger, and demonic activity; its weight crushes Satan under our feet and its presence creates a pathway forward into abiding security and prosperity. It is supernatural because it passes understanding and surpasses circumstances being self-producing and self-enclosed.
PEACE AS A GUARD
(Scriptures/Prayer Points)
Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV – Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will GUARD your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Lord, we allow the rulership of Your shalom to be the security guard, the Prince protector of integrity, and the umpire who stands at the gate of our minds and hearts evicting intruders and permitting the good fruit and giftings of Holy Spirit.
PEACE AS A GUIDE
(Scriptures/Prayer Points)
1 Peter 3:10-12 – For He who would love life… Let him turn away from evil and do good; LET HIM SEEK PEACE AND PURSUE IT. God of all peace—You will soon crush Satan under our feet, therefore, help us remain in the safe keeping of shalom and never be driven by anything, but in everything be led by peace through the Spirit of Adoption being that we are called to peace. Our peace is enclosed in the strongtower of Your name, Prince of Peace, through whom we have peace with God; the legal documents of our condemnation were nailed to the cross, and He made a public spectacle of our adversary at the cross triumphing over him. Thank you that Your shalom even now is working to accomplish that which concerns us to establish and make us complete, lacking nothing, withholding no good thing.
PEACE AS A GOVERNOR
(Scriptures/Prayer Points)
Isaiah 26:3 Exegesis Literal Parallel – Him You will keep in shalom, shalom, whose mind is set on You, because he trusts You. Father, we find solace, security, and safety under the rule and rein of Your great peace that passes understanding and surpasses circumstances; as we set up our minds on You, You quiet our thoughts and calm our emotions; the governor of Your peace settles how we feel and gives us a sound mind to think clearly. We trust You with everything and we lean not to our own understanding in nothing.
PEACE AS A GARNER
(Scriptures/Prayer Points)
Romans 5:1-5 NLT – Therefore, since we have been made right in God’s sight by faith, we have peace with God because of what Jesus Christ our Lord has done for us. Because of our faith, Christ has brought us into this place of undeserved privilege where we now stand, and we confidently and joyfully look forward to sharing God’s glory. We can rejoice, too, when we run into problems and trials, for we know that they help us develop endurance. And endurance develops strength of character, and character strengthens our confident hope of salvation. And this hope will not lead to disappointment. For we know how dearly God loves us, because he has given us the Holy Spirit to fill our hearts with his love. Lord, by faith we have the total package of peace because of what Christ Jesus has done for us. We thank you that when we believed on Him You downloaded in us all of peace in His Person. Today we pray to garner or accumulate the fruit of peace as we pass through development of endurance, strengthening of character, and hope of salvation completed in us. We unpack where we sow in peace the fruit of righteousness to put away self-seeking attitudes, envy, confusion, and lying to ourselves and others. We will collect the peace we have in Christ line upon line, precept upon precept, here a little, there a little until peace overflows our hearts like a river.
Relational Issues
Galatians 5:13-14 Amplified
For you, brethren, were [indeed] called to freedom; only [do not let your] freedom be an incentive to your flesh and an opportunity or excuse [for selfishness], but through love you should serve one another.
For the whole Law [concerning human relationships] is complied with in the one precept, You shall love your neighbor as [you do] yourself.
Brief: The Psalmist wrote, You formed my inmost parts…My frame was not hidden from You, When I was made in secret and skillfully wrought in the depths of the earth (Ps. 139: 13, 15 NASB). Our Creator crafted us with a Genetic Code, a.k.a. DNA. Not only does our DNA determine our physical attributes and psychological and intellectual faculties it likewise contains the hidden instructions of our need for relationships. Dr. Gary Smalley calls this The DNA of Relationships. The DNA Code is as follows:
- You were made for relationships.
- You were made with the capacity to choose.
- You were made to take responsibility for yourself.
From Scripture we learn that God created us for relationships with Himself and with one another. The measure of our maturity as the redeemed of the Lord is revealed in the quality of our relationships, our capacity to choose wisely, and taking responsibility in all righteous, good, and truthful things, especially relationships; Living by the golden rule and the royal law of love you shall love your neighbors as yourself (Jam. 2:8) is where we are at our utmost for His Highest. As fallen creatures we are incapable, outside of grace, of perfect relationships because of corrupted self-love. But possessing a new heart, renewed minds, and a restored soul we can, by the measure of grace we receive, love each other the way God loved us in Christ.
As we pray into Relational Issues we must measure all of our relationships by the maturity of our fruits; we must remember we have the capacity to choose and choosing is the harvest field from which we sow and reap; we must resolve to take personal responsibility for what we choose and how we treat those around us, and we must stop with denials, excuses, and justifying bad behavior, devaluing others, and being peacetakers instead of peacemakers. Our quest is: “We come to love not by finding a perfect person, but by learning to see an imperfect person perfectly”–Sam Keen. This is how Jesus sees us. His quest is to perfect love in us to make us perfect on the Day of Judgment.
