Peace #8—Peaceful Praise

Whatever is true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, and of good repute; if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things … practice these things; and the God of peace will be with you. Philippians 4:8–9

O God of peace, we rejoice in your tranquility; we exult in your serenity. By your wisdom and power you organize yourself perfectly and maintain yourself gloriously. Your integrity encompasses all of your being; Father, Son and Spirit exist and act with one accord: no discord, no regrets. You are free of anxiety, fully delighted in your perfections. Out of this joy you graciously reach out to us, so that we can join you in experiencing and celebrating your transcendent excellence. We needed a peacemaker; so you commissioned and empowered Jesus to demonstrate how to live peacefully with you. You reconciled us to yourself by his death on the cross. You raised him from the dead to confirm your promises to us. You sent the Holy Spirit as the down payment and guarantee of eternal access to all the gracious kindness you have in store for us. You have equipped us with good resources so we might live in the same pleasing way Jesus lived. As we live in your peace, we can live without deceit, duplicity, dishonesty, or dissimulation. As we live in the joy of reconciliation, we begin to experience the fullness of peace: health, soundness, welfare, quiet, tranquility, wholeness, and completeness. O God of peace, you bless and protect us; you smile upon us and are gracious to us; you lift up your countenance upon us and give us peace.