How silently, how silently,
the wondrous gift is given!
So God imparts to human hearts
the blessings of his heaven.
No ear may hear his coming,
but in this world of sin,
where meek souls will receive him still,
the dear Christ enters in.
(“O little town of Bethlehem,” Brooks, P., 1868)
Father, Because I have been justified by grace through faith in the Lord Jesus Christ, Your promised Prince of Peace,1 I have peace with You now and forever. What a wondrous gift You’ve given to me!
Gospel of peace, promise of peace
This peace with You is a wholeness of belonging to You, a settled well-being, no matter what my earthly circumstances hold. I praise You for Your covenant promise of peace to me as Your believing child. For Jesus himself is my peace, reconciling me to You, through His death on the cross in my place.2 This is the “gospel of peace” that helps me stand strong in evil and dark days.3
Peace on earth, promise of peace
No wonder the multitude, maybe thousands upon thousands, of angels filled the sky with Your praise as Jesus was born! What a choir sound!
Abba Father, I know that as Your beloved in union with Jesus Christ, this includes me. This is the gospel of peace! Glory to You alone, oh God!
For Christ is born of Mary;
and gathered all above,
while mortals sleep, the angels keep
their watch of wondering love.
O morning stars, together
proclaim the holy birth!
And praises sing to God the King,
and peace to men on earth.
I must sing of Your peace, into the suffering of this broken and fallen world! I must sing of Your peace in redemption, that made alive my once-dead heart! I must sing that Your promise came true, in the dead of night. I must join the angel choruses, imagining the night when You broke into what we consider time and space, earthly history and location. Glory to God!
Your promised gift of peace as I suffer
Yet, in moments when it feels like the world is crumbling and my mind swirls to possible scary future events, I also seek to “feel” the calm and tranquil peace that You promise me as a believer in Christ. Because You promise suffering and tribulation in this world, I need to believe the things You’ve said in Your Word to have this peace.
You intimately understand, so You said these things to me, to help me.
For You often connect peace with times of suffering, included in “all things” we experience on earth. In fact, You describe peace as Your gift “at all times in every way.”4
You promise to give me Your healing peace that totally and powerfully protects my emotions and thoughts as I suffer,5 with blossomed contentment in my suffering,6 knowing that You will supply all I need to endure earthly suffering, just as You did with Jesus.7
This peace, one that surpasses human or worldly understanding, comes from Your indwelling Holy Spirit.8
As Christmas approaches, please help me to set my mind on Him,9 as He teaches and reminds me of Your Word.10 You tell me I can “let the peace of Christ rule” in my emotions and heart by letting “the word of Christ dwell” in me richly. Singing, rejoicing always, and being thankful to You are all part of this process!11
It’s Your promise, all the way to the end of Your love story of perfect peace! Oh God, how I thank You for all of Your gracious gifts to me!
O LORD, you will ordain peace for us, for you have indeed done for us all our works (Is. 26:12 ESV).
O little town of Bethlehem,
how still we see thee lie;
above thy deep and dreamless sleep
the silent stars go by:
yet in thy dark streets shineth
the everlasting Light;
the hopes and fears of all the years
are met in thee tonight.
Your promise of peace in Your presence and grace, today and forever
What beautiful promises, Father! I want to be supernaturally freed into peace as suffering multiplies. I want Jesus to find me “at peace” on Your promised day of judgment.12 As I pray for so much and so many, help me to sink into Your Word’s promises, satisfied and content with what You’re doing right now and trusting You for what is to come. Stay and settle my mind with complete trust, Lord! What a beautiful gift of Your healing grace this Christmas!
“In peace I will both lie down and sleep; for you alone, O LORD, make me dwell in safety” (Ps. 4:8 ESV).
“I awake, and I am still with you” (Ps. 139:18 ESV).
O holy child of Bethlehem,
descend to us, we pray;
cast out our sin and enter in;
be born in us today.
We hear the Christmas angels
the great glad tidings tell;
O come to us, abide with us,
our Lord Emmanuel.
Material adapted from Praying God’s Promises Into Suffering: A Devotional Bible Study Prayer Journal, Lauri A. Hogle, © 2023
Resources of Singing Christ’s Hope
Below are the current available resources of this nonprofit ministry for suffering Christian women. If you are suffering this Christmas, “may the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, guard your heart and mind in Christ Jesus,” through the songs and Scriptures offered in each resource.
For weekly “praise interruptions,” with access to resource library of playlists of Scriptural songs to sing in this Christmas season, sign up here:
To hear Scripture devotional with calming hymn playing, click here for YouTube podcast.
Devotional Bible study prayer journals, available on Amazon. Click for details.
- Isaiah 9:6 ↩︎
- Ephesians 2:13-16; Colossians 1:20 ↩︎
- Ephesians 6:15 ↩︎
- 2 Thessalonians 3:16, emphasis added ↩︎
- Philippians 4:4-9 ↩︎
- 2 Corinthians 12:10; Philippians 4:11-13 ↩︎
- Philippians 4:19 ↩︎
- John 14:27; Galatians 5:22; Philippians 4:7 12. Romans 8:6 ↩︎
- Romans 8:6 ↩︎
- John 14:26 ↩︎
- Philippians 4:4-7; Colossians 3:15-16 ↩︎
- 2 Peter 3:14 ↩︎
