If I could have peace inside me, it wouldn’t matter much what is happening all around me. Rudyard Kipling’s famous poem “If” begins: “If you can keep your head when all about you; Are losing theirs and blaming it on you.” Inner peace is a stasis that can get you through many toils. But I am at war within myself. Paul is at war within himself. Sin is at war with Spirit. I can’t understand my own actions. We are fractured inside. Our deeds fail to match our intentions which fail to match the holy life Christ inspires in us by His Spirit. The life of prayer is where we get things sorted out. Practicing prayer allows the Lord to work in our lives to bring wholeness and integrity. The truth is we are habituated to sin while longing to be free to the Spirit. Pray for inner peace, wholeness and integrity.