This is the second of the prayer stations I participated in this last week.

For this prayer station, there are some sections of the Gospel of John to read and to reflect on.  Think about what the text means to you, how does it impact on your life, your thoughts, and your behaviour.

You can find the prayer reflection on Approaches to Prayer.

The readings are:

John 14:27

²⁷ Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.
(NIV)

Jesus is the Prince of Peace (Isiah 9:6)

If you’d like to study more on this verse (incl. commentary) check out BibleHub

John 20:19-23

Jesus Appears to His Disciples

¹⁹ On the evening of that first day of the week, when the disciples were together, with the doors locked for fear of the Jewish leaders, Jesus came and stood among them and said, “Peace be with you!” ²⁰ After he said this, he showed them his hands and side. The disciples were overjoyed when they saw the Lord.

²¹ Again Jesus said, “Peace be with you! As the Father has sent me, I am sending you.” ²² And with that he breathed on them and said, “Receive the Holy Spirit. ²³ If you forgive anyone’s sins, their sins are forgiven; if you do not forgive them, they are not forgiven.”
(NIV)

There’s more to study in this verse on BibleHub

So this one took a bit of reading and a lot of thinking. Taken in context, in the first verse, John 14:27, Jesus is about to leave his disciples, and he senses their anxiety and takes that away from them.  Ignoring the context and by just focusing on the verse I arrived at this:

Our worries and fears are fleeting, as much as the world’s peace is short-lived; we need to have the confidence to release them, or they will eternally weigh us down. If we knew the big picture as Jesus did, we would not be troubled – instead, focus on the arrival of the kingdom; everything that takes place possibly happens to bring that about.

The second part of this reflection is more of a challenge directed at us, as individuals.  We are all called to share the good news, to spread the word of our Lord, to share His peace with everyone.  First, we need to learn to accept it ourselves, which means being at peace within as well.  Share whatever troubles you with God, Jesus is there to intervene for us too, so there is nothing to be shy about; God already knows what is in our hearts, we just need to accept who we are before we can indeed move forward.  Opening ourselves to Jesus is a brilliant first step in doing all of that. If you open the door, Jesus will step through it.