Passing The Peace — Whole Heart Living

I have said these things to you, that in me you may have peace. In the world you will have tribulation. But take heart; I have overcome the world. John 16:33

The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Phil. 4:5-7

We are a people who know the Prince of Peace, and He has promised us His joy and peace; we are those who were equipped for such a time as this.

The concept of 1Passing the Peace we are discussing here is based on the idea that once one of us gains God’s perspective and peace, we can help others do the same. We will use the idea of “Peace Island” to help pass the peace.

“Peace Island is a place where people can experience God’s peace in the present moment. When we feel peace we are able to think more clearly, sort out what is important, restore relationships, deal with emotions and most significantly, we are more aware of God’s presence.” (PtP, p. 18)

Very little of God’s peace can be passed on if people do not have basic needs met. Letting people know that we notice their basic needs and have done what we can to help will open the door to getting them to Peace Island. (PtP, p. 18)

The most important part of passing the peace is connecting with God’s peace for ourselves. Noticing our relational circuits, our level of thankfulness, and our awareness of God’s presence are essential tools for us when we want to pass His peace to others.

When our peace is in place, we want to help others to walk through 3 levels of thankfulness, which can also take them down our simple path to God’s peace. We don’t need to teach these levels to people; we simply need to help them reach an experience of them. The information about these levels of thankfulness is for your own benefit.

3 Levels of Thankfulness
1. Small gestures of kindness produce a general sense of thankfulness. This could be a hand on the shoulder, a cup of tea or coffee, a warm smile.
2. When a person directs their attention to something they appreciate in their own past or present, they have reached the second level of thankfulness.
3. Remembering a time when God was with them in the past is the third level of thankfulness.

A Simple Path to Peace Island
1. Receive peace through gratitude
2. Build peace by asking what God wants us to know
3. Stay on Peace Island while we listen
4. Test for peace
5. Find words to pass the peace through a story
6. Tell the peace story to someone

In passing the peace to others, you can say, “I have some training that might be helpful. Would you like to try it?” You may want to lead them in some slow breathing first – “The first step is to take a few slow breaths.” After they take a few slow breaths, you say, “The next step is to find a memory where you felt peaceful or grateful.” When they indicate they have thought of a peaceful or thankful memory, say, “As you think of that memory, remember what you saw, heard, smelled, tasted, or touched; remember who was there and how you felt in your emotions and your body.”

Some people may have a hard time getting in touch with a time they felt peaceful or grateful. You may want to suggest some categories of things that often bring peace or appreciation: pets, nature, art, music, friends, children, or a favorite sport or hobby.

Next, say, “The next step is to open your heart and see if you sense God’s presence.” Once they say they have some sense of God’s presence, say, “Stay with God’s presence until you feel peace.” You can also ask them what they sense God wants them to know.

In leading pre-believers to receive peace, you can use the words “peace,” “light,” or “Creator” in the middle step. If you know this person isn’t a believer, you can say, “The next step is to see if you feel a sense of peace or light in this memory,” or “The next step is to open your heart to the Creator and see what you sense.” Then you ask, “Do you have a sense of peace/light/the Creator?” If they say yes, ask, “Does the peace/light/Creator seem glad to be with you?” or “What does that feel like?”

In this middle step, you can invite people to tell you thoughts that are coming to mind, or if you are leading a group, you can ask them to write down the important thoughts that are coming to them.

When they seem to have a strong sense of peace and the flow of thoughts from God seems to be settling with them, you say, “The next step is to share your story of finding peace. Tell me how this exercise felt for you.” After they share with you, warmly thank them. And then say, “The way to tell your story is to share one sentence about how you felt as you began, then choose one or two thoughts that gave you peace, and how it felt after the exercise.” Invite them to share their story with you and then encourage them to share their story with 2-3 more people today.

Perhaps the most fun and rewarding part of Passing the Peace is watching or hearing stories of how people passed the peace with others after you passed the peace with them. Encourage them to walk others through this simple exercise and to let you know how it goes!

We can make peace more contagious than any virus, and spread the presence of the Prince of Peace across this planet.

You can purchase the book, Passing The Peace, here: https://shop.lifemodelworks.org/collections/top-sellers/products/passing-the-peace