This kind of corporate prayer, which nurtures and supports the same kind of individual prayer, is the paradigm of the classical spiritual discipline of prayer. When our prayers, corporate and individual, conform to this model, Paul tells us that “the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep [our] hearts and [our] minds in Christ Jesus” (Phil 4:7 RSV). God’s shalom (peace) is the order of life in relationship with God in which true wholeness and fulfillment are experienced. This is not an escapist kind of peace; it exists in the midst of events and relationships that threaten to
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