Peace and Balance

Balance is the combination of our relationships, physical health, work, finances, emotional health, and spiritual development. We can lose balance when one of more of these becomes unhealthy and dysfunctional. 

God Says 

For everything there is a season, a time for every activity under heaven. –Ecclesiastes 3:1

Something to Think About 

We can’t and shouldn’t attempt to emphasize and do and be everything at once. Ecclesiastes writes beautiful and powerful words about balance: for everything there is a season and a time. Balance creates an environment where peace can be practiced and lived out. 

Individual or Family Activity 

Think or talk about what areas in your life are balanced. Think or talk about areas in your life that are out of balance. Pray about ways God can bring balance to your life and help you experience peace. 

Individual or Family Prayer

Hectic. Rushed. Worried. 

Stressed. Cluttered. Burdened. 

Lonely. Tired. Complex. 

It is my life but not Your plan for my life. 

By your grace, become the priority and passion of my life. 

When I lack – You sustain. 

When I am alone – You are present. 

When I am overwhelmed – You are my help. 

When I am defeated – You are my hope. 

You provide my needs. 

Faith. Family. Friends. 

Work. Wellness. Wealth. 

Sleep. School. Spending. 

I am pulled in all directions. Pull me in Your direction. 

I confess I have made choices that have caused me to lose balance.
Forgive me when these choices have been intentional. 

I live in an imperfect world that makes balanced living difficult. 

Give me wisdom not to conform to the patterns of the world but to be transformed by the Gospel. 

I pray for organization in the details of life. 

My distractions on non-essentials are many. I pray for focus on the essential things of life. 

Help me give my time, energy, and resources to the important – not the urgent. 

Help me say “no” to mediocre or even good things so I can say “yes” to the best. 

Let me embrace simplicity and flexibility rather than complexity and rigidness.

Give me clear purposes in life. I want to love and be loved by You. 

Make my relationships be life-giving and joyful for me and for those I relate to.

Help me love like you and extend my hand in service to those around me. 

I am a sinner. Lead me to experience your forgiveness and to share forgiveness with others. 

I am jealous and envious. Fill me with thankfulness and gratitude. 

I have neglected my body. Help me take care of myself through exercise, nutrition, and rest. 

I have let my work become my life. Allow me to see that my value comes from You. 

I am unbalanced. It is my life but not Your plan for my life. 

I am pulled in all directions. Pull me in your direction. 

Give me harmony and peace. 

Give me grace and balance. 

In the name of Jesus I pray, 

Amen.

Peace and Rest

Jesus was aware of the demands of the world. In His humanity, He experienced physical, emotional, and even spiritual fatigue. God’s grace offers us rest. 

God Says 

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest. Take my yoke upon you. Let me teach you, because I am humble and gentle at heart, and you will find rest for your souls. -Matthew 10:28-29

Something to Think About 

Jesus makes an invitation to go to Him. To give Him your restlessness and heavy burdens. A promise comes with the invitation: Jesus will teach us and give us rest for our souls. We learn gentleness and humility. God’s grace will provide rest for our souls. 

Individual or Family Activity 

To give God our restlessness and heavy burdens—we must create environments where we can go to God. Think about or talk about what an environment would look like for you to encounter God and how rest would contribute to peace in your life. 

Individual or Family Prayer 

Dear God, 

I’m tired. I carry heavy burdens. My soul is restless.

I’m tired.

Tired that the demands of the day exceed my abilities and energies.
Tired that I am over-committed and under-resourced.
Tired of making mistakes, hurting others, and hurting myself.
Tired physically and emotionally. Tired of being out of balance.
Tired of pretending to be somebody I am not. Tired of being distant from You.
Help me come to You and give me rest. Rest for my soul.

I carry heavy burdens. 

Burdens from my past that are still hurting me today. 

Burdens from today that are preventing me from pursuing dreams for tomorrow. 

Burdens from tomorrow that may or may not ever materialize. 

Burdens of stress. Burdens of sadness. Burdens of dejection. Burdens of desolation. 

Burdens of pleasing others. Burdens of dysfunctional relationships. 

Help me come to You and give me rest. Rest for my soul. 

My soul is restless. 

Restless. I long for peace and contentment. 

Restless. I am searching and not finding. 

Restless. I can’t be still and experience Your presence. 

Restless. I struggle with patience and find it difficult to wait for You. 

Restless. I try to control the world around me instead of trusting in You. 

Help me come to You and give me rest. Rest for my soul. 

Remove all obstacles between You and me. 

The obstacles I have created. The obstacles formed by my environments. 

Give me the wisdom that I can do more and be more with You than without You. 

I have tried it on my own and it didn’t work. 

Teach me to love and be loved by You. 

I want to welcome You into my heart and all of my life. 

Heal me. Make me whole. Transform me into a new creation. 

I give You my fatigue, my burdens, and my restlessness. 

Help me come to You and give me rest. Rest for my soul. 

Amen.

Anxiety and Peace

Anxiety is feelings of unfocused worry and fear. It is often an overreaction to a situation that is neither as real or harmful as perceived. Anxiety is an obstacle to peace.

God Says

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. -1 Peter 5:7

Something to Think About

Anxiety does not empty tomorrow of its sorrows, but only empties today of its strength. Peace is an opposite of anxiety. It is God’s gift of having confidence in our future. 

Individual or Family Activity

Think about some things that make you anxious. Which of these fears are real? Which probably are not real? Which of these can you do anything about? Which one can you do nothing about? Explore how less anxiety would restore peace to your life.

Individual or Family Prayer

Anxiety. The world gives and I receive.
Anxiety is part of my life. 

I worry how others perceive me. 

I worry about my future.

I worry about life.

I worry about death.

I pray tomorrow’s clouds don’t cover today’s sunshine.

I pray for faith to understand and experience that You are bigger than my fears.

Help me obey your command not to be afraid. Help me trust in You.

Bless me with peace.

Amen.

Humility and Peace

The Bible talks a lot about humility. Jesus demonstrated humility daily. Humility is knowing who you are and who you are not and being good with that. Humility is knowing who God is and being great with that. It is thinking of yourself pretty much the same way you think of everybody else. Humility opens the door to grace and peace.

God Says

But He gives more grace. Therefore it says, “God opposes the proud, but gives grace to the humble.” –James 4:6

Something to Think About

Humility is to trust and depend on God. It is the deep waters of peace when the world above us is full of trouble. Humility is a foundation for peace. Constant competition to be the best and jealously of others is a guarantee for a life absent of peace. James writes about the self-destructive nature of pride. Pride is the love of self before love of God and love of others. Pride doesn’t need grace because it already has itself.

Individual or Family Activity

Think about or talk about somebody you consider humble. What do you admire about them? Think about or talk about what some of your next steps to humility will be.

Individual or Family Prayer

Dear God,

Bless me with humility.

A humility that recognizes my unawareness and ignorance.

A humility that knows my weaknesses and needs.

A humility that admits my failures and mistakes.

A humility that welcomes constructive criticism and feedback. 

Let my words and actions reflect Your humility.

May I encourage and not hurt.

May I build-up and not tear down. 

May I compliment and not condemn.

May I think of others at their best and not their worst.

Bless me with humility and open the doors of Your grace.

Amen.

Distraction and Peace

We live in a world full of distractions. Cable television, the Internet, social media, smart phones, demanding jobs, crowded schedules, email, etc…can keep us distracted and unfocused. Distractions are an obstacle to oneness with God, oneness with others, and experiencing peace.

God Says

The Lord answered, “Martha, Martha, you are worried and distracted by many things. One thing is necessary. Mary has chosen the better part. It won’t be taken away from her.” –Mark 10:41-42

Something to Think About 

Jesus was visiting Mary and Martha. He was on His way to die and wanted to spend time with them. Martha was distracted by many things. She wasn’t able to focus on Jesus because she was too busy preparing a meal and cleaning the house. Nothing wrong with a nice meal and a clean house, but she also missed an opportunity to sit at the feet of God because she was distracted. 

Individual or Family Activity 

1. Think about or talk about: what are you missing out on because you are distracted? 

2. Plan an evening or a day free from distractions. Unplug from the world and plug into God’s grace. Journal or talk about what the experience was like to be free of distractions.

Individual or Family Prayer

Dear God,

I live in a world full of distractions.

Things that waste my time.

Harmless activities that may not be so harmless.

I confess times I have been too connected to the world and

            disconnected from You.

I have been preoccupied with work or information or leisure and

            disconnected from others.

Bless me with discipline so I am not wasting my time or my life.

Teach me to value community with others over entertainment.

Give me many undistracted and undisrupted moments with You.

Amen.

Prayer and Peace

Peace is elusive. If it weren’t elusive, everybody would have it. Worry is prevalent and an obstacle to peace. Prayer makes peace possible. We begin our journey to more peace this week with prayer. 

God Says 

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. –Philippians 4:6-7

Something to Think About 

Paul says not to worry. He is on to something, of course. Think how much time you have wasted worrying about things that have never happened or worrying about things you can do nothing about. Prayer changes that. When we pray the promise is that we will experience God’s peace and that this peace will guard our hearts and our minds. 

Individual or Family Activity 

1. Spend time telling God what you need. (verse 6)
2. Spend time thanking God for what God has done. (verse 6)
3. Ask: How could God’s peace change your life or your lives together?

Individual or Family Prayer

Dear God,

Calm the giant waves of my heart.
Calm this storm inside me. 

Still my soul so I may find rest in You. 

Still my soul so I may experience Your peace. 

Give me a peace that surpasses what I can ever understand. 

Give me a peace the world can never take away. 

Amen.

God's Gift of Peace

Peace is a gift. During the next week we will discover the potential and possibilities of peace. We will look at obstacles to peace and discover how to begin experiencing more of God’s peace in our lives.

God Says

I have told you all this so that you may have peace in me. Here on earth you will have many trials and sorrows. But take heart, because I have overcome the world. –John 16:33

Something to Think About

Jesus never claims the world is going to be easy. He even says it is going to be difficult at times. He then declares he has overcome the world and because He has overcome the world we can overcome the world too. One of the first steps we take is accepting God’s peace.

Individual or Family Activity

Identify some areas that are making peace difficult in your lives. Write them on a sheet of paper. Make a commitment to dealing with these issues this week.

Individual or Family Prayer

Dear God -

In places like Somalia and Sudan – Connecticut and Korea

Bullets fly - Children die - Parents cry

Give us Your peace

Broken hearts

Lives too short

Fear of life and fear of death

Give us Your peace

Tears fall down our cheeks like rain from the sky

Knots in our stomach and sleepless nights

Worries about tomorrow compete for space in our mind with regrets from the past

Give us Your peace

Restlessness, impatience, annoyances, intolerance, frustration, and anger

They fill our lives like melted snow floods a fragile river

Give us Your peace

Prince of Peace – Take our burdens and give us rest.

Wonderful Counselor – Show us the way to peace.

Through the deepest valleys

In the darkest places

During the times we are completely alone

Show us the way to peace

Peace with You

Peace with others

Peace with the world

And peace with ourselves

Give us Your peace

           

Dysfunction, dismay, and despair – They exist in the world.

But you have overcome the world                                                            

Help us to be overcomers who embrace Your peace

We give you our fears

We offer you our failures                                                                                   

Our hearts are no longer troubled because of Your peace

You are God and Your peace surpasses all understanding

Guard our hearts and our minds                                                           

Teach us Your presence is greater than our struggles

Give us Your peace

Amen.