Philippians
4:6-7 (NIV)
Do not be anxious
about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all
understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
and John 15:7 are primary verses to memorize on the subject of prayer.
There are many wonderful promises and truths in these Philippians verses with
key words being anxious (worry), prayer, thanksgiving, peace, understanding,
and guarding hearts and minds.
Why
is it that we do not believe what this verse says and promises? It says
that you are not to worry about anything, yet you do. It says rather
than worry (you realize, don't you, that worry is always a choice), you are to
pray and ask God for everything, yet do you? Do you really take this
verse at face value and pray about everything? Do you wonder why you
don’t have peace of heart and mind in your life? Read the verse again……it
says that rather than worrying about things in your life, you pray about them,
and when you pray, you experience the peace of God, both in your heart (your
emotions) and in your mind (your thoughts). If you find yourself anxious,
if you still worry, if you do not have peace of heart and mind, you do not
believe these verses or you are not practicing them. Obviously, it takes
faith in our God to believe in what He is saying to you in these verses.
Do
you realize that most of what you worry about never happens? Mark Twain
once said: "I am an old man and have known a great many troubles, most of
which never happened." Calvin Coolidge once said: "If you see
ten troubles coming down the road, you can be sure that nine will run into the
ditch before they reach you." So often what really bothers you and causes
stress can be readily eliminated through praying about it and having the faith
that God will take care of it. He promises He will in these verses and He
will replace your worry with peace.
Note
that when we pray about our anxieties, we also must thank God for His answers.
Remember that Jesus said in Matthew 21:22 that “in everything you ask in
prayer, believing, you shall receive”. For example, you are anxious about
a loved one and you pray for them, whatever the situation is that you hope can
change. When you pray and ask God for help, thank Him for hearing your
prayer and believe that He has heard it and will respond to it according to His
will. Note that God does not promise to answer your prayer(s) according
to your will, but He does promise that praying with thanksgiving will give you
peace. How this happens, these verses are honest, it is beyond our
understanding. Again, it requires faith to believe the promises and
truths of Philippians 4:6-7.
Worry will never get you anywhere.
Praying for peace in your heart and mind will do you more good than
anything else. Thank the Lord for His willingness to help you and give
you what you really need today.
“When
I look back on all these worries, I remember the story of the old man who said
on his deathbed that he had had a lot of trouble in his life, most of which had
never happened.” -- Winston Churchill
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