One of the reasons John Wesley, a theologian, was converted was because he saw supernatural peace in the lives of the Moravians. He was traveling from England to Georgia. And a fierce storm threatened the ship. The decks were flooded, and the sails were torn. Most of the passengers were terrified, but a group of Moravian missionaries sang hymns and worshipped without any fear of death. Wesley was a preacher, but he didn’t have what they had. Their peace made such an impression on him that he wrote about it in his journal and hung on to the memory throughout his time in Georgia, which did not go well. When he was back in England two years later, someone invited him to a Moravian prayer meeting. He went and was converted that night.
The Spirit wants us to walk in that kind of peace no matter what is going on around us. He wants our peace to confound people. Just as Jesus spoke to the storm to “be still” (Mark 4:39), the Spirit wants us to be so at rest in Him that the storms outside of us have to bow to the peace inside of us. When we are saturated in light, the enemy has to run. Our peace can change the world.
The moment light exposes deception, deceptive forces have no chance. That applies to demonic oppression and any other form of darkness. The moment you see what is happening—when you are in a situation in which you feel stressed or weighed down—the darkness begins to flee. In the natural, your feelings may be entirely justified. But you don’t walk according to the natural. You are not a mere human. If you have been born again, you have been called to something higher. You are no longer subject to these things.
I had a lovely dream recently. I had been feeling a little stressed, but the Lord was there in my dream. We were walking and talking, and Jesus was right in the midst of a situation I was concerned about. The peace that came with His presence made the situation seem powerless to hurt me. I had nothing to be worried about. No one needs to be worried about anything when Jesus is there, right? I was as though His presence meant that the usual rules didn’t apply. It was similar to the feeling you used to get when your parents would come to school in the middle of the day to take you home for a special occasion. Their presence meant that suddenly a higher authority had come in, and the rules you were normally subject to didn’t apply. You were free to go home when others were not. The presence of the Holy Spirit means we can walk above the worries of the world. I woke up feeling such wonderful peace in my heart. I thought, “What on earth was I worried about?” My stress seemed so irrelevant.
What happened in my dream is true in reality all the time. The Holy Spirit is always with us. The normal rules don’t apply. The Holy Spirit wants to open the eyes to His peace that passes understanding. The more we grow to understand Him and know His presence, the more we realize that the normal patterns that used to govern our minds no longer apply. The rules have changed. We get to walk in supernatural peace now. We are no longer victims. We are seated in heavenly places, ruling and reigning with Him.
Prayer Power for the Week of Aug. 26, 2018
This week, thank the Lord that He is our peace, and He promises to give us His presence and peace in all situations. Continue to pray His will as He leads you to intercede for our nation, worldwide revival and the peace of Jerusalem. Remember the next generation as the students begin school once again. Pray for godly teachers, administrators and safety in our schools. Continue to pray for the president and those working with him to ensure peace and provision. Read John 14:27, Psalm 122:6 and Galatians 5:22.