INTRODUCTION
The terror attack in Madrid today raises our consciousness once again to the undercurrent of war and destruction which continue to flow throughout the world. Today’s events also remind Christians everywhere of the need for serious prayer. We need (more than any other time) to pray for peace.
But I ask you; how is a Christian to pray? That may be an easy question for the average Christian. But it is problematic for the Christian who believes in the second coming of Christ and who does not gloss over all the signs the Bible predicts will accompany that event. Since we know that violence and war and terror are the very signs that shall usher in the Kingdom of God and the appearance of our Lord Jesus Christ, how can we keep on praying for these temporary truces between nations which at best seem like a joke and which (in fact) merely exacerbate the problem? How can we keep on praying for peace among nations, when we know that God’s plan calls for sudden destruction to come upon the earth? Shall we presume to pray away the inevitability of Biblical eschatology? I think not.
What we can do is to pray for harmony to be restored in the souls of the many who are despairing in this war torn world of ours. We can intercede for our fellow travelers. We can start with the Lord’s prayer....”Thy kingdom come...” and then, we can articulate our prayer for peace after the model of our beloved Saint Paul as he prayed for his Thessalonian brothers and sisters, “Now the Lord of peace, himself, give you peace always, by all means. The Lord be with you all” (2 Thessalonians 3:16).
This is a model prayer for us. But it is more than that. Paul weaves into the fabric of this prayer, a revelation of Jesus Christ whose person and character assure us that our petition will be granted. In this prayer Jesus is revealed to be the LORD OF PEACE.
What does that mean? It means that he is the:
1. PRESIDER OF PEACE
There are many who have presided over peace sessions over the years. Some have secured peace treaties. A few have even won peace awards. Not too long ago, a former president won the “Nobel Peace Prize”. We commend him and others for their achievements.
But in Jesus, we have one who is more effective. He is not simply a presider at peace sessions; he is the presider of peace itself. He is not just the author of peace treaties; he is the author of peace itself.
When we pray to Jesus for peace, we do not have to rely on one who only hopes for peace. We do not have to depend on one who merely negotiates, arbitrates, or compromises for peace. When we pray to Jesus for peace, we rely on one who is able to command peace.
Isaiah declared him to be the Prince of Peace (Isaiah 9:6). Paul addresses him in the prayer I just mentioned as the LORD of Peace. Luke records that he calmed the wind and the waves of the sea.
Certainly we have a sure answer to our prayer for peace in the presider of peace.
Paul’s prayer further reveals the Lord to be the:
2. PRESENTER OF OUR PEACE
How distressing it would be if peace came only through our laborious efforts. I dare say we would never obtain it. It is therefore a blessed thought when we recognize that Jesus Christ is the presenter of our peace! Paul declares, “Now the Lord of peace himself GIVE you peace.” You see, this prayer indicates that peace is a gift from God!
Now, there is a peace we must labor for. Jesus promised a blessing to the peacemakers. The suffix “maker” implies labor. So when it comes to peace with our brother or sister, we must work for that kind of peace.
But the harmony of our soul cannot be attained as a result of our efforts. Indeed, it seems that the harder we try to reach for this inner peace, the more it evades our grasp. It is, then, a great joy when we realize that God gives us this inner peace as a free gift.
That joy is further enhanced when we realize it is the Lord who personally presents this gift to us. Paul prays: “Now the Lord of peace, HIMSELF, give you peace”
When I was a child, I was delighted when my grandma sent me a package in the mail. I was far more delighted on those few occasions when my grandma came to the house and presented those gifts to me personally. The personal touch made all the difference in the world to me. And now when I am on the receiving end of God’s peace, the fact that he dispenses his gifts to each of us personally is a great comfort to me.
Jesus is also the:
3. PRESERVER OF OUR PEACE
The peace which many try to effect today is very shallow. It is here today and gone tomorrow. The peace which others offer is evasive: they are always reminiscing about past peace, forever looking toward future peace, but never enjoying the peace of God now.
Peace need not be shallow or evasive. We can enjoy God’s peace in the present tense; at least that is the implication of Paul’s prayer “NOW, the Lord of Peace give you peace...”
Added to the promise in this prayer for present peace is the promise that the peace is of the caliber that will last and last. It is not temporary like the world gives, because, as you, can see, the prayer reads: “Now, the Lord of peace give you peace, ALWAYS.......”
There is another important component to this prayer; Jesus is the:
4. PRESCRIBER OF OUR PEACE
Do you not see it? It is evident in the prayer in just three words “BY ALL MEANS”. One might gloss right over that part of the prayer. But it is there and we are wise to pay attention to this detail. When we make those words a part of our personal prayer for peace, we exercise great faith and show spiritual maturity. In essence we trust God’s wisdom regarding the way he choses to answer our prayer; whether the answer comes in the context of joy or sorrow, health or suffering, wealth or poverty. You see, the matter of our peace is in the hands of an all wise God who we firmly trust. We know he does all things well and thus we can (in childlike faith) say, “Do it God! Do it BY ALL MEANS”.
I will give you an example of what I am talking about. A couple years ago my wife and I prayed for God to grant us the joy of owning our own home. Every door shut on us and we were not able to pull it off. At first we did not have peace about this matter because of our great disappointment. But God sent us peace by a means we did not expect. He took the desire of owning a home away from us, at least temporarily. Recently God did grant us the means of owning our own home but he did it in his time and during the hiatus he taught us the important spiritual discipline of appropriating his peace while we wait.
The final words of this brief prayer is the hub around which all the other words revolve. It is the secret by which we can appropriate the comfort of the whole prayer. In essence the words tell us that Jesus is the very:
5. PRESENCE OF OUR PEACE
“The Lord be with you”. If the Lord is not with us, the fact that He is the Presider, Presenter, Preserver, and Prescriber of peace is of little significance. But the truth is this: If we are Christians, the Lord is with us and that means all the benefits of his presence belong to us.
What a marvelous truth to know Jesus is with us. And yet many Christians do not benefit from that knowledge. Because of the distractions of the world, they simply lose awareness of God’s presence. Remember this actually happened to two of Jesus’ disciples after the crucifixion as they were walking on the road to Emmaus. Jesus was with them; in fact, he was walking and talking with them. But they failed to have inner peace because their minds were diverted from the Lord. When their thoughts were redirected, once again they recognized the Lord and experienced peace again. In the words of Isaiah 26:3, “Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee”.
CONCLUSION
We have no guarantee that our prayer for human negotiated peace will ever be answered. In fact, if we firmly beleive in the second coming of Jesus, we cannot be surprised when we constantly hear of wars and rumors of war. And since that is the case, we may be wasting our time praying for the success of so called peace negotiators. The good news is that there is an alternative. We don’t have to pray the way the world wants us to pray. We can make our prayers Biblical prayers. We can start with Jesus prayer. What a powerful prayer that is....”Thy kingdom come...” And then we can add to that Paul’s prayer for peace. “Now the Lord of Peace give you peace always and by all means. The Lord be with you. Amen
