Student Devotionals
Philippians 4:6-7
Pray With Thankfulness
Hello all! My name is Kathy. Today, we are going to focus on a powerful passage- Philippians 4:6-7. It’s a passage you have probably heard many times and maybe even memorized. In fact, Amazon says that it is the most highlighted passage in the Kindle Bible! It is so powerful because it has step-by-step instructions on how to deal with a difficult emotion we all have to face… sometimes even daily or hourly!
This emotion is anxiety. Can you relate? We all feel anxious at different times for many reasons. We are all right now finding ourselves in the middle of facing a new virus that brings a lot of unknowns for our world, our families, and our daily lives.
God knows that we will face many unknowns- things that are scary, hard, and out of our control in this broken world. The good news is that God sees the whole picture of our lives and knows all things. He has made a way for us to have peace!
Philippians 4:6-7 says,
“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 surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
To give you the context of this verse, Paul is writing this letter from prison. Despite his hard situation, Paul is thankful to God for the Philippian church because they sent him someone from their church to support him and give him gifts while he is in prison. Paul knows uncertain and hard times. He is not writing this while everything is going perfectly and he has no trouble. But he knows the way to have peace. It’s comforting to see that peace is possible even in hard circumstances!
In these verses, Paul gives us the roadmap to deal with anxiety in three steps:
STEP ONE: Stop the Cycle of Anxiety.
Paul says, “do not be anxious about anything.” That means that we need to stop dwelling on the things that we are worried about and letting them paralyze our minds and hearts.
STEP TWO: Bring Your Worries to God and Ask for Help.
Paul continues, “...but in all things with prayer and supplication.” Supplication is a fancy word for requesting help. We are to bring our worries and requests for relief to the person who can do something about them.
When you are anxious, you worry, and when you worry, you lose sight of God being in control and near you. He cares about all things of your life... all the details, all of your worries.
Remember, God wants to give you GOOD things. They may not be everything you want or you think you need, but the Bible says that the Father is the giver of every good gift. Isn’t that an awesome truth to cling to?
STEP THREE: Be Thankful For What God Has Given You.
Finally, Paul emphasizes that our prayer is to be done “with thanksgiving.” Paul wants you to thank God for what he has already done for you, especially your salvation if you have put your trust in Jesus. You can also be thankful for the gifts that God gives you every day, such as the beauty found in nature or a friendship you have.
What You Can Expect
Praying with thankfulness is the pathway to peace. This peace, although mysterious, is not an ambiguous theoretical idea. It is an actual force that can significantly impact your situation. Have you ever heard from Christians who are facing incredibly hard or sad times and yet say that they feel peace? This is God’s peace, and it’s so clear that it is from Him and not our circumstances that we can thank Him for it and give Him glory.
Again, God knows that we will struggle with anxiety and He warns us about this often in His Word. He tells us we will face storms in our lives, but He promises He will always be with us through those storms.
Thankfully, God also gives us a “spoiler alert” about the outcome of our lives. He will have the ultimate victory! We don't need to worry because He has overcome the world and all the broken things that are in it. Doesn’t hearing that and trusting in it give you peace?
I want to leave you with one last verse and I pray that as you follow the steps in Phil 4:6-7 you will experience God’s peace today. I encourage you to ask God for his peace and thank Him for it!
Jesus says in John 14:27:
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give to you. Not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your hearts be troubled, neither let them be afraid.”
Thanks and God bless you.
-Kathy Craig