What is your favorite recipe? Does cooking a good meal or making a delicious dessert come to mind?
A recipe can also tell us the necessary ingredients to complete any task or reach a successful place in our lives. Follow a recipe precisely and chances are you’ll like the finished product. Decide not to use all of the ingredients and you can’t expect the intended result.
I have a plaque in my office that reads, “Peace is not a season, it is a way of life.” It has been my desire to find a recipe for peace that I can use on a daily basis. I have searched God’s recipe for living and found one that I can use each day or as needed, in Philippians 4:8:
“Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
This is perfect for me. I use it whenever I feel anxious or uneasy. I am not a worrier, but there are times when I have a busy day with a lot of deadlines and I feel overwhelmed. What I especially like is that I can use it as often as needed. I don’t have to worry about the portions, as I would in cooking. I vary it based on how much time I have and fortunately, it does not take long to get results.
The three ingredients for peace are prayer, supplication and thanksgiving. They are used together, and I try to use them in that order.
First, I begin just talking to God and laying out all of the things I have going on and why I may be feeling apprehensive. This gives me a calm sense of being able to sort through all of my tasks and prioritize them. I don’t use fancy words or try to disguise what I am feeling, because after all, I am talking to God, and what would be the point of not being honest?
The posture of my body depends on where I am. The word supplication, from a biblical perspective, is associated with bending of the knees. Kneeling is a sign of humility and has more to do with me than it does with God being able to hear.
The final ingredient is thanksgiving. I thank God that He is faithful and has heard my prayer, and through Jesus Christ I believe that He sets a guard of peace over my heart. I then wait a few minutes before resuming my activities.
This has worked for me and I encourage you to try this recipe for God’s peace. If you can spare 10 to 15 minutes per day I believe you will begin to see results.
God bless you today.
