A Prayer For The New Year

Now may the Lord of peace Himself give you peace always in every way. The Lord be with you all. – 2 Thessalonians 3:16

How do we imagine peace? A picture of a beautiful country scene with birds flying in the clear blue sky? A mother looking lovingly at her sleeping baby? An artist once painted his version of true peace. He captured a stormy dark sky with thunderstorm, flurry of wind unleashing heavy rain and a roaring sea  with waves crashing on the mountain cliff. Under that cliff, a small bird – safe and dry snuggled in her nest peacefully. The bird was ‘at peace’ amidst the storm that raged about her.

Many of us this year may have been in the ‘eye of the storm’ much like the church in Thessaloniki. The believers were facing persecution for their faith and Paul closes his letter to them with the final prayer that they will have peace in every season of their life.

The Prince of peace our Lord Jesus Christ commands His peace to our hearts that transcends all circumstances.

The Hebrew word for peace ‘shalom’ means wholesomeness, harmony between soul, body and spirit. It means peace at three levels – peace with God (Romans 5:1, Ephesians 2:14), peace of God within ourselves (John 14:27, Galatians 5:22-23) and peace with others. (James 3:18, 2 Corinthians 13:11).

As the world looks at 2021 with anticipation of the unknown, the foundation of our peace rests on this promise: God’s presence is with us.

May you experience the peace of God every single day of the New Year!