Praying for Peace

I have found my prayers recently overtaken with petitions. Many of my friends and family are fighting some difficult battles. You need healing. You need comfort. You need guidance. Or if you are living in a time of great joy, you need it sustained.

One of my favorite verses to pray for loved ones is Philippians 4:6:

"Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."

I was reading Buechner this morning and came upon this, which gave me much comfort in the prayers that I have been praying:

"...true peace, the high and bidding peace that passeth all understanding, is to be had not in retreat from the battle, but only in the thick of the battle."

 We will have peace. But it will not be in taking the easy road; it will not be in surrender; it will not be in finding ease. And to know that God's peace comes in times of heartache and difficult circumstances and hard decisions and not just sunny Sunday afternoons says something beautiful about God. His power is forever reaching, his goodness is incalculable, and his love never fails.

May you receive the only peace that transcends heartache.