How do you pray for peace in a world of chaos?
When you listen to the news for even 5 minutes these days, there’s always some new headline about one or more of the tumultuous and chaotic situations going on in the world right now. Another war, another act of terrorism, another wave of violence, another act of oppression. Is there a way to find peace in this world of chaos?
Yes, I believe there are some things we can all do to help bring peace to the world. Now I don’t just want to sound naively idealistic with nothing practical for you to act upon in the way you think and live your life.
There are no simple solutions or quick fixes. But I will share some ideas that have helped me along the way to find peace, first within myself and then bring that peace to a wider and wider sphere of influence.
Peace in the world will never come from just one person doing something. This is a collective effort for all of us. Jesus said,
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 NIV
I never really noticed this until getting ready for this episode, but in this verse, peacemakers is plural. I had always looked at this beatitude as a direct invitation to me to be a peacemaker, and of course others as well. But it’s pretty obvious that Jesus is expecting there to be more than one peacemaker. He knew many peacemakers were needed in this world of chaos.
What actually is peace?
So what is peace anyway? What are we actually trying to achieve by being peacemakers?
In the Old Testament, the word usually translated peace is šālôm or shalom.
Shalom isn’t just the absence of war. It’s so much more. It refers to completeness, soundness of mind, body, and spirit, wholeness, health, prosperity, harmony in relationships with people and God. Shalom is often a greeting which becomes a blessing of all these things.
In the New Testament, the word for peace is eirēnē and has a very similar meaning to its Hebrew counterpart, and depending on the context, including the peace that comes from knowing and following Christ.
How can we bring peace to a world of chaos?
So how can you and I take these ideals of peace and help bring peace to this world of chaos we’re living in these days?
Well, it’s always easier to see what someone else should do. Have you ever watched an argument flare up between others and thought you could have handled the situation with a more peaceful outcome?
Have you ever listened to the News and thought some national or international leaders should have done something completely different to help establish peace on Earth? I certainly have.
And it’s possible you’re right. If certain people, whether it’s someone you know personally or individuals in important positions had done what you think they should have, things might have worked out better. But it’s also possible it could have been worse.
So, even though it’s easy to think you know what someone else, or another country should do, the most important place to start being a peacemaker is in yourself, in your own heart, in the way you think and act.
To be of help in a world of chaos, you first need to find peace in yourself
If you are not full of the Shalom, the peace and fullness of your God-given wholeness and abundance, it’s impossible to bring this peace to others, whether it’s members of your own family, local organizations, or national and international situations.
Jesus wanted us to have this peace in our hearts and our lives. In fact he gives it to us.
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
Jesus gives us his peace. Think about that for just a minute.
But he wants something in return. He expects the peace he gives us to act like yeast in bread dough, to transform us from the inside out so we will go out and be a blessing to the whole world.
Facing challenges in a world of chaos
Jesus knew we would need his peace to face the challenges in this world of chaos. And if anyone ever knew what it means to face challenges, it was Jesus. Just hours before he would be crucified, he was trying to prepare his disciples for what was about to happen. Here’s what he says to them.
I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world. John 16:33 NIV
Jesus makes a very important point here. We will only find our peace in Christ. Peace doesn’t come from the things you have, the people you know, or the circumstances you’re in, or how clever you are. Neither can people, places, or things take away your peace.
Peace is a spiritual state of mind we find within ourselves in our relationship with God through Christ.
Jesus overcame the world of chaos
Jesus declared he had overcome the world even before his crucifixion.
It’s because Jesus had this inner sense of spiritual peace; he had already done that deep spiritual work. He knew his oneness with his heavenly Father. Now, that didn’t stop evil forces from trying to destroy him. And it appeared those evil forces were successful when Jesus was taken down from the cross and put in a tomb.
But all the world’s hatred of Truth, which Jesus represented in the world, could not actually take away Jesus’s peace, or defeat him, because he knew his relationship with the Father, and he knew his own spiritual identity as the Christ, the Son of God.
Jesus was victorious over the world of chaos because of his total awareness of God’s presence, his relationship with God, and that the kingdom of heaven is at hand.
This is true for you and me as well. You will face challenges, your own personal problems, problems with people you know, and challenges because of what’s happening on a local, national, and global level.
But no circumstance or person can take away your relationship with God or separate you from God. And nothing can take away, alter, or diminish your spiritual identity as a child of God.
The peace you seek comes only from God
The peace you’re looking for, the Shalom that we all need, comes directly from God.
Before you can bring true peace to your family, your community, your country, your world, you first have to find God’s peace in your own heart.
If there are mental and spiritual conflicts going on inside you, this is an opportunity to find healing.
If you’re struggling or wrestling with a moral issue, whether it’s the allurements of addiction of any kind that would try to convince you something or someone besides God can meet your deepest needs, or whether you’re full of envy, jealousy, or greed, or whatever is troubling you, the only real solution is to discover the peace that comes from God, knowing your relationship with God, knowing that God loves you, will care for, protect, guide, and heal you.
Now you may be thinking: Hey James, this all sounds a little pie-in-the-sky to me. I know theoretically that God loves me, but I don’t always feel loved or cared for or protected, and I definitely haven’t felt healed by God. And I don’t feel that deeper sense of inner peace you’re talking about.
More than words are needed
Okay, I get it. It’s easy to say these words. It might be that the reason you haven’t felt that deep inner peace you long for, that comes only from God, is you may still be trying to find wholeness, happiness, fulfillment, and everything else associated with this peace, in people, places, and things instead of in God.
If you’re struggling with a world of chaos in your own mind, you’re going to be of little use to help bring peace to a larger circle of influence.
The most powerful way for you to bring peace to the world as a whole, or even to part of it, is to find and embrace God’s peace in your own life first. And then you’ll have a more positive impact on the world around you.
As I often say on The Bible Speaks to You Podcast, take an honest look at yourself and see what in your own life is not at peace. Invite God’s peace into your life. Face those internal struggles and do the best you can to resolve them, which necessarily includes admitting that you can’t do it alone but you need God’s help.
Ask God to help you in this process. Ask a friend to pray for you. And just talk to God. Share your deepest hopes and desires with Him. Share your worries and fears. Think of everything you’re grateful for.
And in this process, it’s important to just be still and listen. If you don’t feel like you hear God talking to you, that’s okay. Just make sure to have some silent moments in your life and just be still and just try to be in God’s presence.
What do I do next?
Now you may be thinking: Okay James, let’s say I find this inner peace you’re talking about, what do I do next? How can that help bring peace to more people?
The reason Jesus could share his peace with his disciples is because he found it in himself first. The more you feel the peace of God in yourself, it will naturally overflow and bless others because they’ll feel your love.
Let’s say there’s a friend or family member you’ve had an argument with. Think how you can bring peace to the relationship. Stop focusing on what you disagree about and just listen to them to actually understand why they believe what they believe. Quit trying to win an argument. Quit trying to be right. Just listen to their heart and try to understand where they’re coming from with compassion. You can still disagree with them, but you can do it with love.
How does Jesus’s a sword bring peace to the world of chaos?
Okay, here’s a question I’ve got for you. If Jesus wanted us to be peacemakers, why did he say he didn’t come to bring peace?
Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword. Matthew 10:34 NIV
Wait a minute. Isn’t Jesus supposed to be the Prince of Peace? Why does he bring a sword?
I used to be troubled by this. I just couldn’t make sense of what Jesus was saying. Until I came across this verse from Jeremiah.
… for the sword of the LORD devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace. Jeremiah 12:12 ESV
Jesus did come to bring peace to mankind, but he came with a spiritual sword to destroy sin and the materialist ways of the world.
When you are a true peacemaker, when you follow Jesus and have that Christlike peace in your heart, your words and actions may seem like a sword to someone who clings to a worldly and materialistic approach to life.
But it’s not with the spirit of judgement or condemnation you interact with someone like this. It’s with compassion and a caring heart that’s willing to listen to the hurts in someone else’s heart so you’ll be able to express love in a way they actually feel cared for.
Jesus’s mindset that brings peace to the world of chaos
So what are some of the ways we can bring peace to this world of chaos?
If you want to have the kind of peace Jesus gave his disciples and share it with others, the first thing is to embrace the mindset of Jesus in what you say and do, and most importantly, in how you think.
Jesus gave us a remarkable insight into how he was able to do all he did. And to the degree we adopt this perspective, we’ll think more like Jesus and be the kind of peacemaker Jesus hoped for us to be. Here’s what he told his disciples.
Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does. John 5:19 NIV
Jesus could only do what he saw his heavenly Father do. The question for you and me is: What can you and I see the Father do?
What can you see God do?
Can you see God orchestrating peace in heaven and on earth? Can you see God establishing harmony and peace within your own heart, between you and a friend you disagree with, between people with opposing political or religious views, among nations at war?
How much of what God is doing can you actually see? Can you see God loving every single person on the Earth? Then you can do that as well.
Can you see God bringing people together with love and forgiveness? Then you can do the same.
Can you see God healing the conflict or struggles in your heart or someone else’s? Then you can find peace and so can that other person.
I’ll repeat my question: How much of what God is doing can you actually see?
Praying for the world
One afternoon, many years ago when apartheid was still very much embedded in the government of South Africa, I spent about two hours praying to bring healing and resolution to this problem.
First I had to find some peace within myself, I had to connect with God and feel God’s presence in my own heart and let go of my own judgmental attitude and opinions. That was no small thing. Then I prayed for all the people in South Africa to love each other and feel God’s universal love.
I prayed to forgive anyone and everyone who had been less than loving. I prayed for the spirit of forgiveness to envelop all the people of South Africa.
Well, after about two hours I felt a deep settled calm and peace. I truly believed my prayers had had a positive effect on the situation there.
Right after that, I went outside to water the flowers in my front yard. I hadn’t been there for even a minute or so when a lady pulled up with her car spewing steam. She asked if I could help.
It turned out her radiator was out of water. I had the garden hose in my hand watering my plants. I filled her radiator, and that solved the problem.
A small part of the world came to me
She was in town to visit a niece who was in the hospital. I shared some encouraging ideas from the Bible about God’s healing power and I offered her a magazine my church puts out about spiritual healing. She was delighted and felt like God had brought us together.
She told me when she had been at the end of my street she saw me out in the yard and came to see if I could help. If I had come out 30 seconds later, I would have missed her.
In thinking about this later I realized I had been praying for peace in the world and God brought part of the world directly to my home. And I was able to be a blessing.
When you pray to bring peace to something you’re dealing with personally or on a much bigger scale, don’t be surprised when an opportunity shows up for you to share that peace with someone else. It may not be specifically who or what you were praying about, but the spirit of God’s peace is just what is needed.
This world of chaos needs your prayers. And you can make a difference.
Esther brought peace to her world of chaos
I love the story of Esther in the Bible. When she was confronted with the threat of all her people, the Jews, being annihilated by Haman’s cruelty, she fasted and prayed for three days and then took a giant leap of faith to talk to her husband, King Ahasuerus.
But she had to be encouraged in this process. And sometimes we do too. Mordecai explained the situation and how God had put her in a position of authority to influence the outcome.
And he gave her one of the most encouraging and persuasive bits of advice ever given in the Bible. After explaining the seriousness of the situation, that all Jews would be killed, he simply said,
… And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this? Esther 4:14 NIV
You are here for such a time as this
Wherever you live in the world, whatever position you have, whether it’s an important role in international affairs, the head of a company, or just an everyday person going about your daily routines, you have so much to contribute to the peace of your world. Just like Esther, you are here for such a time as this.
The world of chaos is crying out for the peace that comes only from God. It may not always know that’s what it’s crying out for, but at the most fundamental level, that’s what is going on.
When you find that peace of God within you, you will help other find it in them, and your peace will reach out to bless others to the degree you can see God loving and blessing all mankind. There’s really no limit to how far your blessing can go.
This is not just theoretical hope or hype. This is a hands on, feet on the ground approach to prayer that will change how you see yourself, others, and the world.
Prayer challenge to bring healing in a world of chaos
If you really want to be a force for peace in the world I invite you to participate in a challenge, an opportunity, whatever you want to call it.
Make a list of all the internal conflicts in your own life, your own little personal world of chaos. They might even be things you have never told anyone, or maybe all your friends and family know what you’re struggling with. It doesn’t matter. Write these struggles on a list.
Then pick a favorite passage in the Bible like the 23rd or 91st Psalm or the Lord’s Prayer or something like that and then use that passage as the basis of your prayer to bring healing and resolution to your personal world of chaos.
Then make a list of the things where peace is lacking in your family, your church, at work, your relationships, or in your community. If you’re like most of us, there might be way too many things to go on a list. Just pick two or three. Then use your Bible passage, or another one, as the basis of your prayer. For example, if you’re working with the 23rd Psalm take each line as a prayer for the situation.
How will God be a shepherd to others?
Let’s say there are two family members who argue all the time over politics. How does Psalm 23 help heal that situation? You can pray to see that the Lord is their Shepherd and they won’t lack anything, that God is shepherding both of them. You can pray that God, and only God, will lead them where they need to go, provide for them, and protect them from any harmful idea or activity, or person. Go through the whole psalm or whatever your passage is.
Now, think of two or three things in your country that are on the opposite side of the table from peace. Here again, take a Psalm or another Bible passage and make each verse a prayer to heal this situation and bring God’s peace to it.
And finally, think of a couple of international situations where there is no peace. Take the same prayerful approach with these situations. And don’t just pray about the problem as it appears on the surface, but pray about the deep, underlying issues.
Can you see God shepherding leaders in this world of chaos?
Can you see God guiding world leaders, being their Shepherd, protecting them from harm. Can you see God guiding all the people all over the world and protecting them from harm? Use each verse of your Bible passage to pray about this.
Think of this kind of like a science experiment or a homework assignment in math class. Open your heart to God and beseech His mercy and love in the process. Ask Him to open your eyes and heart to see and receive more of what He is doing and how He is loving all mankind.
This doesn’t have to be a long drawn out prayer. But you may spend several hours with it. The main thing is to feel God’s presence and peace in your heart.
And I guarantee, this will give you a deeper sense of peace within yourself. And there is no limit to the effect it will have in this world of chaos.
∞∞∞∞∞∞∞
Photo credit: stockcake.com
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James Early, the Jesus Mindset Coach, is a Bible teacher, speaker, and church mentor. He conducts Bible workshops online and in person. His focus is on getting back to the original Christianity of Jesus by learning to think, pray, and love like Jesus. Contact him here.
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Bible References
Matthew 5:9 NIV
9 Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God.
John 14:27 NIV
27 Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
John 16:33 NIV
33 I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.
Matthew 10:34 NIV
34 Do not suppose that I have come to bring peace to the earth. I did not come to bring peace, but a sword.
Jeremiah 12:12 ESV
12… for the sword of the LORD devours
from one end of the land to the other;
no flesh has peace.
John 5:19 NIV
19 Jesus gave them this answer: “Very truly I tell you, the Son can do nothing by himself; he can do only what he sees his Father doing, because whatever the Father does the Son also does.
Esther 4:14 NIV
14 … And who knows but that you have come to your royal position for such a time as this?
