By Kathi Pelton
Many years ago the Lord began to teach me how to deal with the circumstances that hit all of our lives that produce stress and anxiety and cause our thoughts to be fixed on the things of earth. He challenged me to “take Him at His Word!” Then He led me to Philippians 4:6-7 which says,
“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.”
He then broke it down for me in order to teach me how to live from heaven to earth rather than earth to heaven. First He highlighted the words, “Be anxious for nothing.” My thought at the time was, “Wow, thanks for starting with the hard part!”
But then He said that the key for being anxious for nothing was in verse 7 which reads,
“…and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
He showed me a vision of His peace being placed over my heart (soul) and mind (thoughts). Since anxiety is rooted in our thoughts and emotions first—causing our bodies to react—I realized how much sense this made. I began to pray each day, sometimes numerous times a day, for His peace to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus.
Then I went before my Prince of Peace and through prayer and supplication made my requests known. Supplication is merely the act of humble and earnest asking. Some definitions of supplication call it “begging” but I discovered that in the absence of anxiety and the presence of peace, it remained a humble posture of asking. Begging is tied to anxiety and doubt that the one receiving the request will respond.
Lastly and most importantly, “…with thanksgiving!” We don’t enter into thanksgiving only when we see results, but we enter into thanksgiving by faith and because He is worthy of all of our thanks. We finish our personal prayer for breakthrough in both peace and praise. It’s like a holy sandwich…prayer and supplication held together by peace and thanksgiving!
These two verses transformed my life! Discovering a life of peace in a world of trials and tribulations changed everything. It didn’t happen overnight but as I took the Lord’s challenge to “take Him at His Word” it caused His Word to become a part of who I am and it rewired my emotions and my mind to be aligned with peace, prayer, and thanksgiving. Every time I find myself feeling the weight of circumstances or experiencing the rumblings of anxious thoughts I go back to praying daily for His peace to be the guard upon my heart and mind. Then I take my requests humbly before Him and spend the rest of my time in thanks and praise. I honestly see amazing breakthroughs in my life and around my life because I have taken Him at His Word and it never comes back void!
Today will you enter into this breakthrough challenge? Will you take Him at His Word and apply it to your life until it becomes a part of who you are? If you do you will mark this day as the day that you began to live in peace and continual breakthrough.
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Has this ministry blessed you? If so, would you give a financial gift as a thanks offering today? Help us to finish the first month of January strong and watch how the Lord causes you to finish strong as you give generously.
To donate a gift go to: http://www.inscribeministries.com/
If you’d like to become a 2019 ministry partner by committing to pray for us and give a monthly offering write to me at kathi@inscribeministries.com We will send you personal monthly updates and we will partner with you to pray for your family throughout 2019.
Oceans in the Desert 
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