Are You Looking For A Prayer That Works Part 3

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Are You Looking For A Prayer That Works

Part 3

Sunday July 15 2007

Philippians 4:6-8 gives us very practical insight into how we pray this prayer of casting your care.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Now I want to read this passage again in,

Philippians 4:6 (KJV)

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

“Be careful for nothing”

The fact of the matter is that Paul seems to be making a play upon two indefinite pronouns: nothing and everything.

Let me give you my translation,

It goes like this: “Worry about nothing; pray about everything.”

Prayer is the secret of power.

“Worry about nothing.” In verse 4 we were given one of the new commandments God has given us: Rejoice.

Now here is another commandment.

Worry about nothing; pray about everything.

Nothing is a very interesting word.

If you have something, it’s not nothing, that is not correct grammar, but it is an accurate statement.

Nothing is nothing, and you are to worry about nothing.

Does this mean we are to look at life through rose-colored glasses, that we are not to face reality?

Are we to believe that sin is not real, that sickness is not real, that problems are not real?

Are we to ignore these things?

No. Paul says that we are to worry about nothing because we are to pray about everything.

Nothing is the most exclusive word in the English language.

It leaves out everything.

“Worry about nothing.”

I confess that this is a commandment I sometimes break, I worry.

But the reason we are to worry about nothing is because we are to pray about everything.

This means that we are to talk to the Lord about everything in our lives.

Nothing should be left out.

I have heard the question for years, “do you think we should pray about the little things in our lives?”

Let me answer it this way, “can you mention anything in your life that is big to God?”

When we say that we take our big problems to God, what do we mean?

They are all little stuff to Him.

And what we call little He wants us to bring to Him also.

As believers we need to get in the habit of bringing everything to Him in prayer—nothing excluded.

When I go on a trip in my car and it involves several hours of driving, I invite the Lord Jesus to go along with me.

I talk to Him and tell Him everything about Ed Pruitt, things I wouldn’t tell you or anyone else.

I tell Him everything.

I think we ought to learn to do that.

We ought to pray about everything.

“Pray about everything.”

Tell God all that is in your heart, as one unloads one’s heart, its pleasures and its pains, to a dear friend.

Tell Him your troubles, that He may comfort you;

Tell Him your joys, that He may sober them;