Prayer For Peace

“Growing up is about moving from a time of prayer to a life of prayer.”  ~Unknown

This is my all-time favorite prayer.  In the 12 steps rooms we affectionately refer to this prayer as “The 11th Step Prayer,”  to the world it is the Prayer For Peace by St. Francis Assisi.

I can remember the first time I read/prayed this prayer.  I was in a chemical dependency center reading the book, “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions,” which was written by one of the co-founders of alcoholics anonymous.  I read the “Twelve Steps and Twelve Traditions” from cover to cover, all in one setting, trying to figure out if there was any hope for me.  The prayer was on page 99 of the chapter describing the 11th Step (“Sought through prayer and meditation to improve our conscious contact with God as we understood Him, praying only for knowledge of His will for us and the power to carry that out.”)  

On that fateful day back in the summer of 1987, I can remember being in total awe of this prayer and thinking “all of my problems would go away if I could become the person in this prayer.”  In fact a few years later it became a life goal of mine to live at least one day of my life in total alignment with the prayer…I’m still trying.

We will spend the next two weeks praying this prayer daily while taking a look at it one line at a time.

Prayer is not just a part of my life, it is what my life is built upon and is therefore in all parts of my life.

P.E.A.C.E.

Jay@EagleLaunch.com

Matthew 6:6, “But when you pray, go into your room and shut the door and pray to your father who is in secret.  And your Father who sees in secret will reward you.”  (ESV)