No Other Peace

“Devote yourselves to prayer with an alert mind and a thankful heart.†Colossians 4:2 NLT

Last week, I was reading a devotional and this verse really hit me. It made me stop and think… how DO I pray?

Am I alert and focused?

Or do I pray when I’m in bed at night falling asleep, or when I’m in the car and there are a million distractions?

Do I pray with a thankful heart, taking time to appreciate God’s love and blessings? Or do I dive right in, asking for help with whatever situation I’m facing at the moment?

Hmm.

I have to admit, when I asked myself these questions, I didn’t like the answer. Because as I mentioned last week, things have been really busy. Honestly, I feel like I’ve been “praying on the flyâ€.

Usually, I make it a point to start my day with a prayer, but lately, there’ve been days when I’ve realized at ten o’clock in the morning that I haven’t even thought about God yet.

Thankfully, though, God is gracious.

And He wants us to come to Him anytime, anywhere, in any way.

If I say a twenty-second prayer before taking my daughter to camp, He hears it. And if I only last one minute into my prayer at night before falling asleep, He still knows my heart. But reading that verse in Colossians made me want to be more aware of how I pray, and it made me want to give God the gratefulness and devotion He so deserves.

For the last several days, I’ve been setting aside time to pray, to really talk to God, without any distractions.

And what a difference it’s made.

It’s amazing, when I start my prayers by thanking Him, how my perspective changes. Instead of focusing on small, unimportant things, my thoughts shift to things that really matter. And my prayers reflect that, too.

Phillipeans 4:6-7 promises…

“Do not worry about anything, 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 you hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.â€

It’s true about that peace, you know.

When I’m purposeful with prayer, when I spend time talking to God, and listening, the stress of my day seems to fade and things seem to go more smoothly. Like the verse says, I don’t understand the peace, but when I seek God, I feel it.

And there’s no other peace like it in the world.