Philippians 4:6-8 Anxiety Cure

Philippians 4:6-8  “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.  Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things.” (NASB)

So, it’s 3:30 in the morning and I’m sitting in my hotel room after a week of meetings here at the “Happiest Place on Earth” and I’m writing my BLOG.  OK …  Most folks would be sleeping you’d say?  Well, it’s not like I just got in from a late night of carousing with the gang.  We did have a nice banquet to close out the meeting but then I turned in.  After some decent sleep I found myself thinking and actually wrestling with the events of the week and the meetings and decisions that need to come next.  Yep, right here at Disneyland, I was tossing and turning anxious about business decisions ahead.  After an hour or so of being fully aware that was going on, I gave up and got up.  I’ll BLOG then decide it is time to sleep or just pack up and drive back to Wasco.

As I came to clear thinking this Scripture came to mind.  “Be anxious for nothing” was the phrase that the Holy Spirit recalled to my memory.  It comes from Paul’s letter to the Philippians and comes in chapter 4 of 4 near the close of the letter.  I don’t know that you would call it a benediction but it is a portion of the closing remarks, the thoughts Paul wants left on the minds of the readers.  Thankfully, Paul doesn’t just give the admonition to not be anxious and drop it there; he gives some direction.

Paul adds, “But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”.  So, being anxious for nothing is not simply one of those self help techniques; a mind over matter deal.  No, “Be anxious for nothing” is the state of mind as we come to prayer and petition of the Lord.  And how are we to pray?  We are to offer our prayers and requests (supplications) with “Thanksgiving”.  With an attitude of thanksgiving we lift up our prayers and our requests to God and when we do, the promised result … “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”.  WOW!  So, if I’ll just stop a minute and with an attitude of thanksgiving give a little prayer to God about how things are and what’s on my mind, he’ll return to me more than I can possibly understand in the form of peace.

I feel better!

And now that I do, Paul gives me a little more … “Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things”.

Shazamm!  Not only has Paul shown me the remedy for my anxiety but he’s shown me with what to fill the void.  Fill up my mind with good stuff and there simply won’t be room for all that crud anymore.  God’s Word is good! AMEN!

1 Thessalonians 5: 16-22 Pray Without Ceasing

1Thssalonians 5:16-22  “Rejoice always; pray without ceasing; in everything give thanks; for this is God's will for you in Christ Jesus.  Do not quench the Spirit; do not despise prophetic utterances.  But examine everything carefully; hold fast to that which is good;  abstain from every form of evil.” (NASB)

A dear friend of mine is lying sick in the ICU at a local hospital and as word of her illness has spread many have offered their prayers.  I have asked many to pray and to “Pray without ceasing”.  It is this idea of praying continually that I’d like to explore today.

I have heard and perhaps you have too over the years that encouragement, “Pray without ceasing”.  I believe the idea is clear that we are to maintain that open dialogue with God throughout our day, every day.  Do we achieve it?  No, we don’t but it remains the ideal toward which we strive.  As I did the word search to find this phrase in Scripture I found that it occurs in the final chapter of 1 Thessalonians.  It is essentially a portion of Paul’s benediction or closing remarks in this letter.

In context, “Pray without ceasing” is but one of the closing encouragements in the letter.  I would suggest that it bears no greater weight than the others so in making this observation I believe we should take a look at what goes along with our continual state of prayer.  As we begin I’ll just tell you they are every bit as challenging as, “Pray without ceasing”.

First we are encouraged to, “Rejoice always”.  I recently wrote a BLOG called “Joyful Trials” in which this concept is explored.  You can find it in the index for further review.  None-the-less rejoicing always especially in light of seeing my friend in the hospital is a tall order.  How am I to do it?  The next phrase is, “Pray without ceasing” and following that comes the exhortation, “In everything give thanks”.  So I’m not only to find joy continuously as I maintain an open conversation with God but I am to give thanks to God continuously as well.

Paul indicates that obedience in these things will help me follow the next instruction.  He writes, “Do not quench the Spirit”.  The Spirit is often referred to as a fire or light so, “Quench the Spirit” would be to put out the flame or dim the light and we are not to do this.  The Holy Spirit is sometimes referred to as The Encourager.  This is due to the role of the Holy Spirit in the believer which encourages us in all things to live honorable and yes, holy lives.  So this passage is saying not to put the Holy Spirit aside rather to yield to Him; “Hold fast to what is good”.  I would suggest here that only by yielding to the Holy Spirit can we find joy and give thanks in continual prayer especially in the midst of trials.  Especially as we see a loved one lying in a hospital bed so ill.

We are asked to “Examine everything carefully” that is to say, evaluate what is being taught in light of all Scripture to be sure that it is Truth.  This is a warning that not everything out there should be believed.  After all, Satan knows that the best lie is very near the truth.  I’ll spend more time on that topic another time.  For now, the Scripture is clear, evaluate everything with care.

Finally, “Hold fast to that which is good; abstain from every form of evil”.  Face it; sometimes we just do the opposite.  Paul reminds us that we are not to follow those ways of the world; we’re different so we need to act like it.

So, where does that leave us?  “Pray without ceasing” is a Biblical command that in context is a part of the greater picture of how a Christian should live.  We are to live in communion with the Lord helped along the way by the Holy Spirit who will also help us discern Truth from error; good from evil.  Yield to Him, pray to Him, give thanks to Him, live in Him, and glorify Him.  AMEN!