The peace of God is much closer than you think.
You know those recipe articles online, where you have to read seventeen paragraphs about how someone harvested their own wheat to make the world’s fluffiest pancakes before dodging five ads and minimizing random pop-ups just to finally find the recipe you were looking for buried deep within the underbelly of the internet?
God’s peace is not like that, and we won’t do that to you with this article.
The following paragraph is the simple prayer for peace you’re looking for, but we also hope you’ll keep reading to find more prayers for peace, meditate on scriptures about peace, and learn more about where, or rather Who, peace comes from.
A Simple, Comforting Prayer For Peace
God, You’re the Maker of everything good. You know me far better than I ever could.
Through ages and ages, You’ve seen every reason that every being has been stressed out, worked up, and worn down. Please settle me, fulfill me, and refresh me as I realize Your peace in my mind, body, and soul. I trust all this and all of me into Your good, strong, and wide-open arms. In Jesus’ name, amen.
Now That You’ve Prayed For Peace
You might want to take a few deep breaths, in and then out, and tell God you’re thankful for a few things. If it’s hard to think of something, try noticing how you’re feeling and continue talking to God about it. As you talk with God, thank Him for Jesus and the Holy Spirit, who is here with us.
You may feel a sense of relief, but it’s also okay if you’re still feeling a bit overwhelmed, anxious, or low on gratitude.
Spend some time looking around you, where you are, and noticing the way a chair might be holding you, walls, floor, and ceilings might be protecting or supporting you, and the device you’re using to read this might be serving you.
Thank God for the simplest things, like air to breathe and clothing to wear. Maybe there are people nearby who are somehow contributing the good God has given them back into the world. These, too, can be ways that God, in His fullness, provides peace.
Some Scriptures About the Peace of God
What is the peace of God? Here are some scriptures about God’s peace you can use to learn more and meditate on the peace of God. If you’re not sure what we mean by “meditate,” we simply mean to focus with your mind—as you slow your body—and make room for Scripture and the Holy Spirit to bring your attention to God’s love and goodness for you.
In the Bible, in John 14, Jesus comforts His followers while also preparing them for life after He is no longer walking, breathing, and eating among them as a human. He shares in this chapter that He’s going to prepare a place for His followers, that He is the Way, the Truth, and the Life, and that He and the Father are one.
Jesus also tells His followers about their coming Advocate and Helper, the Holy Spirit who will come after Jesus leaves. Jesus says in John 14:20: “On that day you will realize that I am in my Father, and you are in me, and I am in you.” Jesus is telling His followers that, by the coming of the Spirit, we can be made whole in Him and God the Father.
It’s after sharing all of this that Jesus sums up this teaching by using the word “peace”:
Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid. John 14:27 NIV
What Is the Peace of God?
The peace Jesus offers us is His peace—His Spirit available to live in us, be with us, and connect us to our good God. We don’t have to beg God to give us peace. We have His peace because we have Him.
Jesus Promises Trouble and Peace
Two chapters later in the book of John, leading up to John 16:33, Jesus has continued telling His closest followers in a few different ways that He will eventually leave to go back to be with His Father. But they don’t have to worry because His Spirit, the Holy Spirit, will come to be with them and in them.
After all of that, Jesus once again reiterates this idea of having peace in Him, even as He also promises trouble in the world.
“I have told you these things, so that in me you may have peace. In this world you will have trouble. But take heart! I have overcome the world.” John 16:33 NIV
As you read and meditate on John 14:27 and John 16:33, consider reading more of the verses in between. As you read Jesus’ words, imagine you are there with Him—you can hear Jesus’ calm, healing voice and see His kind eyes. Think about what you might have felt as you realized that Jesus might not always be with you in person, to lean against, laugh with, and confide in.
Permit yourself to realize some of your troubles, knowing that Jesus saw them coming long before you. Then consider what Jesus meant as He promised the Holy Spirit, so that He could be in you, and you could be in Him.
You Can Share Jesus’ Non-Anxious Presence
The passages we’ve read from John are part of what’s sometimes referred to as Jesus’ farewell address. You can find the address that launched and defined Jesus’ ministry on earth in Matthew 5-7, often called the Sermon on the Mount. In this grand sermon, Jesus completely resets all of our life goals and social targets to show us how to live and pray in a way that God’s kingdom comes and His will is done on earth as it is in heaven. Guess what? The outcome is peace.
God made His home in humanity so that we could make peace.
Instead of fist-bumping the religious elite, Jesus blesses the spiritually poor. Rather than sweet-talking the successful, He empowers the meek. Instead of cozying up to the powerful, Jesus blesses the peacemakers as children of God.
As you seek the peace of God, do not forget that Jesus has also called you to bring the peace of God to your family, friends, and neighbors as a peacemaker. Meditate on these words from Jesus as you pray for God’s peace to fill you as His child. God did not send us Jesus and offer us the indwelling presence of His Spirit so we could simply receive peace. God made His home in humanity so we could make peace.
Blessed are the peacemakers, for they will be called children of God. Matthew 5:9 NIV
In Christian tradition, the book of James is often thought to have been written by the brother of Jesus. In succinct and practical detail, the book outlines how to ask for God’s peace, receive it, and live as a peacemaker in the world. I highly recommend this short book if you haven’t read it recently.
James's author appears familiar with Jesus’ way of contrasting God’s peace with the cultural idea of peace. In the verses leading up to James 3:17-18, the author compares the world’s wisdom with God’s. In detail, they describe worldly wisdom as bitter, jealous, ambitious, and disorderly. Sounds bad, right? But doesn’t it also sound a lot like the ingredients of modern success? Like the opposite of what Jesus blessed in His Sermon on the Mount?
The book of James doesn’t speak highly of our modern culture of climbing the ladder, bigger and better everything, and self-centeredness. Instead, James goes on to describe the alternative and the fruit it produces:
But the wisdom from above is first pure, then peace-loving, gentle, reasonable, full of mercy and good fruits, impartial, free of hypocrisy. And the fruit of righteousness is sown in peace by those who make peace. James 3:17-18 NASB
Peace is a fruit of God’s Spirit living in us.
Reread those verses and compare each item to how you approach the situations that bring stress and chaos. Are you acting as a peacemaker? If not, it’s never too late to invite the Holy Spirit to show you how to make peace. Remember, peace happens as we are filled and formed by the Spirit, the same Holy Spirit that Jesus promised. Peace is a fruit of God’s Spirit living in us. Paul, who wrote much of the New Testament in the Bible, wrote about the fruits, or outcomes, of surrendering to God’s Spirit living in us.
- But the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace, forbearance, kindness, goodness, faithfulness, gentleness and self-control. Against such things there is no law. Galatians 5:22-23 NIV
Are you noticing a theme? Peace is more than a feeling, it’s an outcome of living as a child of God, surrendering to the Holy Spirit living in you, and practicing the ways of Jesus as a peacemaker in your relationships and your world.
Asking for God’s peace is a request to be with Jesus, as you become like Jesus by the power in Jesus.
A prayer for peace is a reminder that, as a follower of Jesus, you are filled with His Spirit, the Holy Spirit. In other words, asking for God’s peace is a request to be with Jesus, as you become like Jesus by the power of Jesus. A prayer for peace is recognition that you are a child of God, living as one who makes peace in your world, by the power of the Holy Spirit living in you.
3 More Prayers for Peace
If you haven’t invited Jesus to fill your life so you can follow Him with your mind, body, and soul, I hope you will. Following Jesus doesn’t mean you won’t face troubles. It doesn’t mean you will never feel anxiety, pain, or chaos.
Following Jesus is both a one-time and everyday decision to receive His grace, walk with His peace living in you, and—by the power of His Spirit—overcome the very real challenges you face in this life. If you’re not yet sure about following Jesus, here’s an article about finding Jesus for yourself.
If you’re ready to invite Jesus and His Spirit to fill your life, there’s also a prayer for that!
1. A Prayer for Inviting Jesus Into Your Life
God, I’m here. I’m ready to know Jesus. I want to try following Him with my life. Will You help me make Jesus the Leader of my life? I want plenty of Your light to live in. I believe Your Son gave me His life; I’m giving You mine. I need Your forgiveness. I need Your Holy Spirit to make a home in my heart. Comfort, love, and guide me into this new way of life. Thank You for Your grace, kindness, and forgiveness. Thank You. Thank You. Thank You. In Jesus’ name, amen.
If you prayed this prayer, let a real person know, and we’ll follow up with you.
2. A Prayer for Thanking God for Peace
Dear God, because of Your Son, Jesus, I have been invited into Your family as Your child. I have Your Spirit, the Holy Spirit, living in me. I want to thank You for making a home in me. You are my love. You are my joy. You are my patience, kindness, goodness, and self-control. You are my peace. Thank you for your presence. Thank you for your kindness. Thank you for your peace. In the name of Jesus, amen.
3. A Prayer for Peacemakers
Dear God, you are a God of peace. Your Son, Jesus, blessed the peacemakers, and I want to live as one. Make me a person who is not overwhelmed by bad news or worldly chaos. Please give me the courage to care for others, calm difficult conversations, and make wrongs right. Make me an instrument of your peace. Settle my soul as I forgive others who have wronged me. Guide me away from any ideas or actions that will harm me, my community, or others. Ground me in your peace as I make peace where I live. In the name of Jesus, amen.
How Do I Find the Peace of God?
So, what’s the recipe for finding God’s peace? It’s not magical thinking. It’s not a three-step plan. It’s not as simple as praying specific words. Living in God’s peace is inviting, receiving, and being formed by the presence of His Spirit living in you.