Title: Philippians 04:6-7 Anxiety and Prayer
Contents
Anxiety and prayer (Philippians 4:6-7)
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6-7). )
entry
In war, there is always a channel where you are attacked no matter the time of the East or West. It's a supply route. Only when supplies that can be eaten, worn and used through it are smoothly supplied, soldiers can perform their functions as normal soldiers.
'Prayer' is the channel for us as Christians. That is why Satan is relentlessly trying to destroy the world of prayer, which is the channel of grace. But from the devil's point of view, this is not a simple matter. This is because those who are already immersed in this prayer and worship life rarely fall. So, the next strategy is to make these religious lives ineffective even though we cannot break down this framework. It means that they are trying to block the channel of supplying spiritual things from heaven to the saints by making them do at least one prayer or worship service.
"Don't worry"
One of those methods is 'worry'. That is why Satan tries to thwart our earnest prayer by gathering our hearts before God by breaking our hearts with the obstacle of 'worry'.
In fact, you don't know how much to worry about these days. The most important among them is probably the concern about 'food, clothing and shelter'. In Matthew 6, Jesus said, 'All things the Gentiles ask for, what to wear and what to drink, seek first the kingdom and his righteousness'.
But, why is the Lord who taught us to pray, "Give us our daily bread...", saying otherwise?
So how can you overcome your anxiety? If we dig into the root cause of anxiety, it is 'the weakening of unity that comes from personal encounter with God'. In other words, there is no worry where I have the confidence that God will fully help me, that me and my life are of great interest to God, and that God will consistently intervene in my life.
To think that one's anxieties can be overcome by the satisfaction of one's desires and concerns is chasing a mirage. So what do you need? It is to change the desire that arises from an anxious state due to such anxieties into faith. So, when you are in an anxious and painful situation due to a lack, you take the expectation of your heart toward the need to depend more on the Lord. That is the believer's true response to anxiety.
But to do that, you need faith. What kind of belief is it specifically? There are many beliefs, but the Bible emphasizes this first. “How much more is it you?” This is the belief in this word. God gave His only Son for us. He crucified Him. That's why Romans said to us who doubted God's love. “He who gave his only son for us, will he not give us everything as a gift?”
Even if there is a lack, there is a sense of self-esteem in those who meet the Lord personally and live in full fellowship with Him. Why? Because I have experienced that God considers me so precious, I am learning God's perspective.
That's what we need in these difficult times. Of course, we cannot live without material things. But we need more than that. It is to examine my relationship with God through these lack and concern. Am I really a person who has depended and leaned on material things, or am I a person who has depended on and leaned on our Lord? This would be a great opportunity to check this out.
That is why, in times like these, Christians need to get rid of the bubble of faith, become sincere, and find a suitable alternative that the Bible speaks of. So, when fundamental changes such as the blind see with eye drops, the naked find naked, find clothes, and the poor buy gold and become rich by faith, they will overcome situations of economic crisis and restore the church. You will learn the secret to fertility.
So, the worries for the kingdom of God and the worries about what an individual eats, wears, and lives are not cut like a knife. No matter how much you started worrying about the kingdom of God, later on, your heart may be divided, and concern for the situation rather than trust in God may dominate a person. This is wrong. So, as if to prove it, the Bible says, "Do not be anxious about anything."
We can overcome these concerns only when we trust Him personally in a loving relationship with Him.
"Pray"
And secondly, the apostle tells us not to be anxious but to pray. The Bible says, "In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known." First of all, you can know the scope of prayer. That's 'everything'. It means to cover everything that worries us with prayer.
Worry requires a high degree of concentration. There is not a single day that I am not worried about it, and I worry about it ignoringly. So, those who are focused on worry never focus on prayer. Because my heart is already divided. If you keep worrying like that, the world of prayer will be completely destroyed. The form remains, but practical prayer is impossible. After that, the anxiety continues to spread and you begin to act. You are taking steps to protect yourself. So your relationship with God becomes more difficult.
In the end, life without God begins. This is the tremendous destructive power of that one small act of concern. How surprised are you?
However, the best way to turn it off is to cover it up with a prayer when an anxious thought arises. Ladies and gentlemen, is prayer a 'becoming' or a 'doing'? I would like to answer this. "Prayer is 'doing' when you can't pray, and 'being' when you can pray well." God pray
It is a 'doing' until it drives us from within and makes it a prayer. So, people who want to enjoy a life of abundance without having a prayer life need to change their attitude. It is something to pray for.
You must have experienced that there was a great concern, but after living while praying for a long time, it disappeared. That's it. Prayer is a powerful weapon that believers in Jesus have.
"Peace... I will keep it"
The third and last is peace. Curiously, there are many examples where prayers are answered immediately, but in most cases it takes time. And there are times when God makes us wait for a long period of time even though God answers clearly. But there are things that come faster than that. It is the peace that God gives to those who suffer from anxiety when they pray.
But the interesting thing is, "The peace of God, which transcends all understanding...". 'Perception' means 'understanding' in Greek. Literally translated, it means "the peace of God that transcends all understanding...". The subject of all understanding is human. “But the peace of God, which surpasses all human understanding, is in Christ Jesus.
will guard your hearts and minds.” The promise comes immediately. You have probably experienced it too. It is difficult to explain logically. It is beyond all human understanding or understanding. It is saying that the peace of God will guard your hearts.
So, prayers may be answered immediately or later, but in any case, the first thing that happens is this kind of peace. It's amazing.
concluding remarks
So, there are two ways of living, living in the same deprivation. The same concerns arise, and for some people, even if they have concerns, they do not pray, so they continue to bloom and eventually swallow up that person's life. It will be an opportunity to experience the greater peace of God that we could not enjoy.
Where do you think such generosity comes from? It ultimately comes from the peace that comes from God. When such peace is in us, we gain strong strength to lead a more holy life while restraining ourselves and restraining ourselves. However, when these are exhausted, there is no power to lead a holy life. That is why people are becoming wild and desolate. This is the destructive power of worry. You shouldn't live like that. You have worries, but you should never become one with them. Because anxiety and peace cannot coexist.
So, I hope that you will be determined to pray before God and to serve God, the church, and our family on your knees. So, in these anxious and dark times like this, if you depend more on God, live in holy peace, be tolerant to countless people who are anxious, and become people who can tell them the secret of peace that is within you, your teachings and evidence will be a great salvation. will be a means of I hope that you will become children of the Lord who live by contributing like that.