Philippians 4:6 – Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Today the world is in turmoil. There is so much uncertainty about what the future holds, and it is affecting lives like never before. Jesus and the New Testament writers have clearly spelled out that we can have control over our emotions (Jn 14:1). Paul deals with the problems of anxiety or worry that we perceive to be uncontrollable things in our lives. These situations can be dealt with by prayer. Anxiety can be managed by reorienting our thoughts. Praying to God brings us the assurance about God’s ability to manage these things and refocus our thoughts. Peace comes when God sends His Spirit to comfort us and when we truly believe that we can cast our burden on Him (Ps 55:22).
When we pray, we are to present our request with thankfulness. This builds faith within us that God is indeed able to help us. He would not command us to pray if He were not a God who answers prayers. We can pray to Him because we know He will answer us in whatever way that will be best for us. If He answers us and gives us exactly what we ask for, we thank Him. If he answers us in a different, but right way, we thank Him because we trust Him and know that He knows better than we do what is good for us. In this way, it is anxiety that leaves our hearts and minds and that peace that surpasses understanding comes in to conquer our anxiety. Remember the old hymn, “This world is not my home, I’m just passing through.” In today’s tumultuous world, that rings truer with each passing day. Be at rest – And Pray!
-Jim Humphrey
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