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I’m not a champion of old hymns nor do I reject music just because it is “getting on in years”. The criteria that I use to determine my acceptance or rejection of any music is, “Is it life-giving?” If the answer to that question is “Yes”, then it has a place in my music repertoire. Consider the following portion of a well-known hymn
O what peace we often forfeit
O what needless pain we bare
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer
Part of the reason why this hymn continues to find favour and acceptance is because it expresses a biblical truth (Philippians 4:6, 7 NLT)
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
This biblical truth orbits around three words – Panic, Prayer and Peace
1. Don’t PANIC about anything
2. PRAY about everything
3. PEACE will guard your heart (what you feel) and mind (what you think)
Apparently we can’t panic while we pray. Similarly we can’t pray while we panic
But when we choose to pray, God’s peace secures our hearts and minds just like the guard did as Paul was under house arrest at the time of writing. Paul saw the presence of that Roman Officer as being a daily reminder of the peace of God.
