Daily Devotion - Tuesday, March 11

Needing Peace?

“Out of my distress I called on the Lord…
The Lord is my strength and my might;
God has become my salvation.”
--Psalm 118: 5, 14

In these troubling times, unsettling moments greet us daily. Some are close and personal, others are more global. The up close, personal things can grab us and really shake up all the things we are trying to balance. Ken Phifer’s prayer, “I Need a Sense of Peace,” is helpful:

Give me peace, O God, a central peace.
Let me know that at the heart of turbulence
There is the calm that comes from faith in you
That at the core of life there is great confidence
From which springs forth courage and gladness.

Give me a standing place in life
From where I may be able to look steadily
Upon the world without panic.
Out of my central peace,
Let there ripple forth concern and compassion,
Indignation at injustice and willingness to give of myself
Knowing your spirit is with me.

May I attain the feeling
That I have touched that central peace
The peace that abides amid the confusion of life. Amen.

Ben Keckler
03.11.08