To avoid the punishment coming on the earth, God’s people are instructed to go into their rooms and shut the door behind them. What does that make you think of?

In the Sermon on the Mount, Jesus instructs His disciples to go into their rooms and shut the door behind them. Why? What are they to do there?

That was Jesus’ instruction on how to pray.

To escape destruction, pray.

That sounds like sound advice.

Prayer is how we accomplish. In verse 18 it talks about how they were writhing like a pregnant woman but gave birth to wind, that they didn’t accomplish any deliverance at all.

We can’t save ourselves. We can cause ourselves a whole lot of trouble and it make look and feel like we are accomplishing something, but in the end it will be wind. It will blow away. One breath from the Lord and all that is not of Him can be swept away.

We accomplish through prayer and we accomplish prayer in a closed room alone. It’s a secret place. The Lord sees, though.

There are promises in this chapter. We’re told the world will learn righteousness from God’s judgments. We’re told that God makes level the way of the righteous.

That reminds me of mountains and valleys being removed, the crooked places being made straight and the rough places smooth. God prepares the way.

A beautiful promise is that God will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are stayed on Him. That “stayed” word is to lean. To lean, to rest, to remain, to abide. Put yourself in His arms, lean your head on His chest and be at peace.

There is more to the verse, though. It doesn’t say that he will be kept in perfect peace because his mind is on the Lord at all times. That’s not the qualifier. That doesn’t earn you peace. The rest of the verse say that they are kept in peace because they trust in God.

Trust. There’s your key to peace.

Lord, grant us faith to trust You completely to just rest and lean in and find and keep peace.