Prayer Brings Peace

Philippians 4:6-7

Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

I think all of us would agree.  We need to pray.  There is a lot to pray about.  We could never pray too much.  While we are experiencing this pandemic and what it has done to our lives, prayer is the number one source of peace that we have.  These verses are a great resource on prayer.  If we follow what they tell us, we will live free from stress and worry.  Sometimes we know what to do, but we don’t do it.  I have a pastor friend of mine who makes this statement often, tongue in cheek.  “Why pray when you can worry.”  That sounds humorous, but there is a lot of truth in there as well.  Too often we choose stress and worry instead of prayer.  I want to break these verses down and hopefully challenge you to pray more and worry less.

1. The Agenda.  Be careful for nothing.
   careful – to become distracted; anxious   (I Peter 5:7)
   nothing – not any one thing
2. The Action.  but in everything… let your requests be made known unto God
   requests – petitions; expressions of desire
3. The Ability.  by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
   prayer – a pouring out; asking for favor in earnest
   supplication – a praying against an evil, either for its removal or prevention; a begging pardon for
   thanksgiving – rendering thanks for good received
4. The Alternative.  And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding
5. The Accomplishment.  shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus

Today, I purposely did not comment at all on the Scripture. I wanted to let the power of the Word penetrate your mind exclusively. Outside of a few definitions that I thought would be helpful to your understanding, I did my best to magnify the profound truth God gives us concerning anxiety. He does not want us to experience it at all. If we come to Him in prayer, He will give us a glorious alternative – His peace.

Pic Credit Debbie Grose