Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NASB)
There are times when life deals us a bad hand, all is not well and we are deeply anxious about our concerns. Anxiety comes in various levels from mildly upsetting up to deeply distressing. Today’s verses are written by Paul, a man who knew about anxiety in a Roman prison. He didn’t wring his hands, sobbing over his condition – he knew that would not help him. He chose to take everything to God in prayer, laying them before Him. But it was not a somber prayer holding onto his angst, instead, it was the prayer of surrender (letting go) and thanksgiving to God. Here, we see the simple steps of the prayer of faith; believing God will hear and answer, and His peace will lighten our burden.
The words that follow today’s verse urge us to seek a Godly life in all we do, accepting our circumstances not by our own strength but by God’s strength working through us. This is only possible by praying in complete faith in any and all circumstances. This is linked to “I can do all things through Him who strengthens me” (verse 13), which is not a magic spell like some people use it as, but rather it is a further confirmation of the prayer of faith being active in the believer’s life.
Dear Reader, I pray that this rather simple explanation would encourage you to pray in all circumstances – to surrender all your anxiety to God with faith and thanksgiving. I have had to do just this in recent days, and I know the presence of His Peace – may this be the case for you today.
Truly I say to you, whoever says to this mountain, ‘Be taken up and cast into the sea,’ and does not doubt in his heart, but believes that what he says is going to happen, it will be granted him. Therefore I say to you, all things for which you pray and ask, believe that you have received them, and they will be granted you.
Mark 11:23-24
This is an updated edition of a post originally published on Devotional Treasures
