Tag Archives: peace

Prayer for Peace and Comfort

Peace is so important to our hearts, our minds and our bodies, so coming before God will always bring more peace into our lives. It’s important that we take time with our prayers, because God knows that we need to slow down, we need to still our minds, we need to our rest hearts, and then we’ll enter into the inner sanctuary of His love. So let’s prayer together now:

Short prayer for peace and protection

Dear Father, we come before you our Lord, Saviour and friend. We journey with you through every season of our lives. Thank you that you hear every prayer and petition of our hearts. We lay out before you the great trouble we feel, the stresses we are under, the losses we have endured, the burdens we carry and the doubts and fears that can consume us. You hold each of us in your care. You remain, you abide with us and within us. We are always safe in your care. Amen.

Prayer for peace and comfort

Come dress us Lord in comfort. Give us new shoes, so that our feet might tread steadily across this difficult life terrain. Give us new clothes, so that our vulnerabilities are covered and our souls protected at this turbulent time. Give us a new crown, perfect to our size, unique and real, one that reminds us of who we are in this season.

Come shower us Lord with peace. Cleanse us with grace, may it fall softly upon each moment, bringing restoration in these harsh days. Come shower us Lord with peace. Refresh us with hope, may clean dew pour into every shadow of despair that we endure. Come shower us Lord with peace. Refill us with faith, may it overflow in our souls and rise high in our hearts.

Lord, thank you that you are our comfort and our peace. Amen.

Prayer for Comfort in Difficult Times

God, I am crying out for help in this difficult time.
Help me to find some light in this darkness.
Lift my eyes to see even the faintest glimmer of hope
And hold tight to you.

Lord, you are beside me, stay close today.
Surround me with your love.
Help me to remember your goodness and trust in your saving grace.
May my tears turn to joy
And may your light flood this soul.
For surely you are my saviour,
My friend, and my guide. Amen.

Prayer for Peace and Comfort

Lord God, You promise the peace of a still lake
Even in the midst of a storm.
You promise the peace of a slumbering child
Even in the middle of tension and disagreement.
You promise the peace of a poppy field
Even in the place of heartbreak and devastation.
Your promise is a peace that surpasses our human understanding.
So I choose to rest by the still waters, to lie down and rest amongst the poppies.
Your resurrection declared peace over trauma, power over death, and life everlasting. I trust in you.

It’s been a real privilege to join with you in prayer. Please do leave your prayers in the comments below so that others can join with you. There are many more films and prayers on this site about receiving God’s peace. Here’s one you can watch now:

And until we meet again, may God hold you in the palm of His hands.

(Lead image photo by Neil Thomas on Unsplash).

How to Receive God’s Peace

This week I’m going to be looking at God’s peace. What is it and how do we receive it?

Peace is as a gift from God; we hear about peace in bible as the ‘Peace that surpasses all understanding’ and as a blessing exchanged by the early Christians as ‘peace be with you’. So, as humans we can rest assured that when our bodies, minds and spirits are feeling disturbed, anxious or fearful, that God can impart peace by his Holy Spirit into our very souls.

I am going to take you through a step by step visualisation process that can be done individually, in pastoral care or within a small group situation. Peace comes through being real with ourselves. Only when we acknowledge the storm can the Holy Spirit move to calm it.

Firstly, find a quiet moment to focus, and imagine yourself in a small boat, quite alone. How do you feel? What is the sea of your life like around you? I find visual pictures helpful. For me at the moment I feel unsteady in my boat. I know I carry underlying tension that makes it hard to relax. Sometimes it only takes just one area of our lives to become rocky for us to feel this way. My boat feels unstable. For me difficulties with my family and relationships are rocking my boat. For you if you feel unsteady it could be health issues, financial worries, loss or grief. Or perhaps it is disappointment or regret?

Little Boat on the sea — “Little Boat” –download a higher resolution version here

Staying with this picture, in that still or turbulent sea, place Jesus into your boat. Jesus is by your side. Sitting beside you is the author of life, the creator of heaven and earth, the Holy One, the Redeemer. Journeying with you is the one who loved you so much that he faced a horrific death yet conquered over that darkness and rose to life. Feel His presence, the love and light He carries and allow Him to lead your thoughts and heart. Where is the still water? This still water might be the care of friends and family, or it might be the blessing of a focus like hobbies, passions and interests. These are Gods’ good gifts! To find peace sometimes we need to allow Jesus to hoist up our sails and to gently lead us into the harbour. In the roughest times we all need help to engage with rest and sleep, a hot bath, a comforting drink, the beauty of flowers or a sunset! I believe that the Holy Spirit works with us in a holistic way. He helps us engage with the gift of peace.

Now look at the cargo in the boat. What are you carrying? It could be precious cargo, children perhaps? Or a charitable work? Or perhaps a role or responsibility? Look further, is there any cargo weighing your boat down? Is there anything you don’t need to carry? In my little boat I do see precious cargo – children, passions and callings, roles and responsibilities. However, if I am honest, I see a great big sack of guilt! I’m going to give Jesus this guilt. You see it keeps arriving back in my boat! And as I pass it into the hand of the Lord it becomes lightweight dust. It’s nothing to Jesus! Why? Because he has conquered my guilt! He has paid the price for my mistakes and failings. Is there anything that you need to give him? Fear of the future? Shame from the past? Hurt that feels as fresh as the day you bore the pain? Disappointment that suffocates your aspirations and dreams? Name it and give it to Him. See it turn to dust……

Sailing boat in stormy waters — “Voyage” – download a higher resolution version here

Next, what do you need from Jesus to hoist your sails and move into that more peaceful harbour? There is always a harbour, no matter how turbulent our sea, how damaged the boat is or how frightened we feel! Jesus promises us peace in all places and at all times. What is the sail that will carry you? What does the wind of God’s Spirit need to blow on to propel you into that haven of God’s peace? On my sail I see the words “keep trusting in God’s love”. I allow Jesus to lift this sail high and I breathe in those words. For you it might be words of comfort such as “I am with you”, “you are chosen”, or a request such as “I need you healing touch, release me from this depression”. It could be so many things. Where will your small boat sail to? Where is your harbour? Breathe in the love of God, allow hope to fill your sails.

Boat in still waters — “Harbour” – download a higher resolution version here

Lastly, imagine the boat now in the harbour. Create a picture of this in your mind. I cannot promise that you won’t once again feel the storm, the unsteadiness and fear. However, I can testify that the harbour of God’s peace will always be there. If you pray and ask the Holy Spirit to guide you back into this haven he will. Because God’s love is deeper and wider and more powerful than we could ever fathom or understand no matter how wild the sea around us.

Lord, make me an instrument!

I find the prayer of St Francis a deeply challenging prayer to read. Whether in a time of peace and prosperity, or in a period of conflict and hardship, it is not instinctive to be an “instrument of peace”. Yet the word instrument does suggest that we become a channel for God’s peace, that it flows into us from him and into the world from him. What can we do to curb our instinct to be defensive if we are shouted out, blamed or cursed? How can we pardon those who we have been hurt by, forgive those who have wounded us, or reconcile ourselves to those we blame? And what can we find that pushes back the doubts we all hold inside and ushers in faith, hope and love again?

I believe that the answer is to remain in Jesus, the source of all this grace, love and truth. It is when we engage with the eternal, pray to God, lean upon him and praise with the angels that God the musician is engaged with us, his instruments. It is only through Jesus, with his spirit alive in us, that we can truly pray this prayer. Bitterness and fear are enemies of health, enemies of relationship and enemies of progress and peace. It is essential that this prayer is one we model at every level with our children who will take this mantle from us. It is crucial that each of us begins to become this instrument at “home” first, allowing the melodies of love and grace to surround our families, for it begins with the little things in life. Being a variety of instruments of God’s peace will create symphonies of blessings in our communities and lead to radical change in the wider world. And the planet needs peacemakers whom at the deepest level give up their being to become instruments for the Holy Spirit to move. From small places extraordinary things can and do happen.

Lord, make me us an instrument of your peace. Come transform our lives and the world around us with the beautiful sounds of heaven…