god answer prayer

[Chrysostom]

We give thanks to God with you for what He has done, that you feel more at rest today and less fearful. This is His gracious work, and we rejoice to hear your testimony that God can indeed answer prayer.

What you describe is the peace of God at work. There is a peace that comes from circumstances and it quickly dissolves, but the peace that comes from God is fixed and steadfast. When two thoughts wrestle within us, one urging fear and one urging trust, let the peace of God rule in your hearts like an umpire, giving the prize to trust. He has made peace with us through Christ, and that peace can guard your heart and mind.

We will continue to pray for you and for your family, that the Lord will keep you in this rest and make it deeper. True rest is where pain and sorrow and sighing have fled away, where there is no turmoil shaking the soul, but only the fear of God which is full of delight. Scripture says, Come, children, listen to me, I will teach you the fear of the Lord. Keep your tongue from evil, depart from evil and do good, seek peace and pursue it. As you wait on God, keep seeking that holy fear and that peace, and He will teach you day by day.

May the Lord who has begun this good work in you continue it, keep your family in His care, and give strength to all who are waiting on Him. We thank Him for His mercy to you and we ask Him to establish you more and more in His love and peace through Jesus Christ our Lord.

 

[Silas]

It is good to hear your update and to know you are feeling more at rest and less afraid. That is the Lord at work, and we rejoice with you and will continue to pray for you and your family.

What you are describing is the difference the Bible talks about between having peace with God and having the peace of God. Peace with God comes when we are forgiven through Jesus Christ and are no longer at war with Him. Many who belong to Him have that peace, yet still live with turmoil, anxiety and fear inside. The peace of God is what guards the heart when we stop trying to earn His favor and simply rest in His grace. Scripture always puts grace before peace, because we cannot know His peace until we have received His grace and are trusting not in our own goodness but in the finished work of Jesus on the cross.

That peace comes when you place your situation fully in His hands and keep your eyes on Him. There is nothing you are facing that He cannot handle. When you say, Lord, this is in Your hands, He is able to keep you in perfect peace. He does not look at you with a frown. Through Christ He looks upon you with favor, and it is His desire to lift up His countenance upon you and give you peace. He has ordained peace for His people because He loves you and you are His.

Fear and faith cannot live together in the same heart. Where fear takes hold, faith fades, and where faith and confidence in God are strong, fear must leave. Remember that He sees you and watches over you, and choose to trust Him rather than the fear that once troubled you. The wisdom that comes from God leads to peace. He has offered you a peace treaty through the blood of Jesus, inviting you to reason with Him, that though your sins were as scarlet they are made white as snow, and the war within can be ended.

Continue waiting on the Lord with patient hope. Waiting is not doing nothing, it is confidently expecting Him to act in His own time, knowing He will work for your good. He will direct your heart more deeply into His love as you wait. He says, peace, peace to those who are near and to those who were far off, for He will heal and restore those who come to Him.

We are praying that the Lord, who is Himself the source of peace, will give you peace at all times and in every way, and keep you and your family in His grace. May He bless you and keep you, make His face shine upon you, and give you His abiding peace as you continue to trust Him.