Inner Prayer, Outer Peace

Neville's Inner Vision

Take the verse as a portrait of consciousness, not a decree of exterior events. Supplications, prayers, intercessions, and giving of thanks are not petitions to change a distant God, but acts of attention that reshape the inner atmosphere. When you imagine praying for all men, including those in authority, you are aligning your state with divine order. The terms 'king' and 'in authority' symbolize the inner authorities that govern your life—the thoughts that seem to rule your days. To lead a quiet and peaceable life in godliness and honesty is to dwell in a state where fear, contention, and doubt have been transfigured by truth. This is good and acceptable in the sight of God our Saviour because God in you desires the salvation of all; your inner conviction that all are already saved and coming to the knowledge of truth is the seed that grows outward as harmony, integrity, and clear seeing. The practical result is not better circumstances alone but a transformed inner condition from which right conditions naturally flower.