1. Acknowledge – This is an extremely
important first step and the key to all others. Recognizing God for Who He is
sets our priorities in proper place. I like to start the day reminding myself
that He is the ultimate supreme Being, not just my personal God, but God of all
there is. Literally, I say to Him,
“You are my God and God of all there is.”
or
something to that effect as I start each day. It is my way of affirming His authority
over my day.
2. Submit – If you haven’t turned your
life over to Christ, now would be the time. If the Prince of Peace isn’t your
leader, stop to think who you are following. There are only two sides: His and
the devil’s. There is no peace in hell.
Even
if you are saved it serves us well to affirm our submission to Him daily. Like
acknowledgement, it says we honor Him first in our hearts. After I acknowledge
Him, I tend to follow with:
“I submit fully to You and Your will for my
life.”
4. Commit – Affirm or re-affirm your
commitment to Him. If you haven’t done this, you should. Simply stating to Him
that it is your desire to be committed to His will in your life will get His
attention IF you truly mean it. Be prepared, though, because He will put you to
work. (Working for Him is a great source of blessing and peace.) I like to say,
“I am fully committed to serving You as it
pleases
You.”
5. Practice – Continuously seek His will
and guidance throughout the day. If you are sincere and faithful, you’ll be
surprised at how He’ll lead you. It’s perfectly acceptable to start with the
little things:
“Lord,
what do I do about . . . ?”
for
example. The trick is to stay at it. Persistence gets the prize here, because
God answers those that keep asking until they get an answer.
6. Praise – Start every day and end every
night with it. To put it practically, praise is our pump’s primer. When we lift
Him up, we open the valve, so to speak, to His joy.
I
often wake up singing the songs I’ve written or reciting praise Scripture. For
this I suggest memorizing short pieces of praise. In my experience, songs often
work best, because it is easier to remember them. However, the 23rd
Psalm is easily committed to memory, as is the first of 103rd.
“The
Lord, (You are MY), is my Shepherd . . .”
In
hard times it is even more important that we praise Him. I cannot stress it
enough. Praise Him while you’re suffering. Praise Him when disaster seems
imminent. Praise Him when hope seems fleeting. As we lift Him up, He fills us
up and we are at peace amidst the storm.
7. Pray – Prayer naturally follows praise.
We start with adoration and gratitude, and then lay our requests at His feet.
This isn’t the same as “Practice” because practice is about continuously seeking
His leadership. So, we practice the attitude of prayer, but come before Him in
dedicated prayer.
“Merciful,
Heavenly Father, how I adore You . . .”
If you are earnestly
looking for peace, the only place you’re ever really find it is in Him. But we
can’t have peace with Him until He is Lord of our hearts, minds, and lives.
That said, it matters not how distressing the times are if we are in Him,
because He is God of the times as well and fully able to carry us through.
