In times of crisis, like what we are experiencing right now, we usually hear, “Why worry when you can pray?” Prayer allows us to prevail over these trying times. But, frankly, we tend to worry more than pray. One of my favorite verses in the Bible on prayer is Philippians 4:6-9. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.”[1] This morning, we will talk about “Prevailing Prayer.”
Look at verse 6: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” There are two commands here. First, “Do not be anxious about anything” and, second, “present your requests to God.” Let us look at the first command: “Do not be anxious about anything”.
Worry is defined as “anxiety, fretfulness, or undue concern.”[2] Of course, we do worry. It is a constant temptation to worry. When the price of oil or rice or tuition fees skyrockets, it is our natural reaction to worry. It is our default setting as humans. However, it is one thing to feel that way. It is another to dwell in it. That’s why we are commanded, “Do not be anxious about anything”. So, since it is a command, it is sin to give in and brood in worry. This imperative is in the present active. According to my Greek manual, the present imperative is “used for (1) general actions that should characterize one’s life and also for (2) specific actions that one should begin and continue.”[3] We are commanded to continually make it our way of life not to worry. Note also that it is in the active voice. It takes effort not to worry. As I’ve said, it is our default setting to worry. God wired us to worship Him. But our sins caused us to be rewired for worry. It is a choice, a step of obedience, and a decision not to do so. Are we living a life that can be characterized as worry-free? If we are worrying right now, what actions can we take to begin and continue living a life that is worry-free?
In his “How God Works When We Are Worried And Weary” wrote, “‘Do not worry’ does not mean that we are to be careless. Rather, it means that we are to be free from needless care. It does not mean that we are to be indifferent about our concerns. Rather, it means that we be different in handling our concerns. It does not mean that we are to be thoughtless. Rather, it means that our thoughts must be full of God’s thoughts, so that we will be thoughtful to others and not simply be thinking of ourselves.”
So, instead of panicking, we are to pray. That’s the second command. Again, let us look at verse 6. “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Encircle the conjunction “but.” The word Paul used here gave a strong contrast. We cannot worry and pray at the same time. Either we worry or we pray. Literally, the verse reads, “Be anxious about nothing but pray about everything.” I like the contrast. Nothing to worry about. Everything to pray for. Worry is like a heavy burden. Either we allow it to break our backs or we allow it to bring us to our knees in prayer. Either we carry it ourselves, which will be too heavy for us to carry, or we commit it to God. The Bible tells us, “Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you.”[4] We do that through prayer.
The word “prayer” is “a word that denotes the petitioners attitude of mind as worshipful.”[5] So, prayer is not going through the notions of saying it. No formulas. No magic words. No rituals. It’s a matter of the heart. We are not commanding a genie that considers our wish as his command. We are seeking the sovereign God. The word “petition” refers “generally [to] a request arising from a specific need.”[6] We can be as specific as possible in our requests before God. But, as someone wrote, “Leave it entirely up to God to decide what the blessings would be and where, when, and how we would receive them.” That’s why we pray “with thanksgiving.” We acknowledge that whatever God grants is for our good. “It may also include remembrance of previous blessings.”[7] Psalm 103:2 says, “Praise the LORD, O my soul, and forget not all his benefits”.
So, to prevail over whatever crisis we are facing, we are to EXPERIENCE the POWER of prayer.
God wants us to be proactive. Look at verses 8 and 9: “Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.” There are two commands here: “think about such things” and “put it into practice.” Paul has put together belief and behavior, attitude and actions. Both commands are in the present tense that “calls for a habitual or continual action.”[8] That means we are to continually think and live in the way prescribed here.
We are to “think about… whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable”. “True” refers to “Whatever is honest and reliable.” “Noble” refers to “Whatever is dignified and worthy of respect.” “Right” refers to “Whatever conforms to God’s standards.” “Pure” refers to “Whatever is wholesome and morally pure.” “Lovely” refers to “Whatever promotes peace rather than conflict.” “Admirable” refers to “Whatever is positive and constructive.” Paul summarized everything this way: “anything [that] is excellent or praiseworthy.”[9]
I’m not talking here of mere positive thinking. Some people think we are to ignore the negative. No, we are not in a state of denial. We just decide not to dwell on the negative. But instead we deal with the negative through the positive. To “think” means, “to consider, to reckon, to take into account… ‘[to] use your facilities upon them’”. We dedicate ourselves to devote our minds in positive thoughts. When we worry, we are focusing on the negative. In a sense, it’s a matter of perspective. For example, instead of saying, “Isang libong piso NA LANG ang pera natin,”[10] we say, “Isang libong piso PA ang pera natin.”[11] And we are to act upon what we think. Verse 9 says, “Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice.” Here, “learned” and “received” are paired together. It refers to the exhortations they got from Paul. These are formal learning situations. Then, “heard from me” and “seen in me” are joined together also. It refers to the example they observed from Paul. These are personal learning situations. That also means we are to have close company with positive people. That’s why small groups are important. As the cliché goes, “Tell me who your friends are and I would tell you who you are.” But I am not saying that we isolate ourselves from negative people. If ever we associate with them, we should be the ones influencing them and not them influencing us.
So, we are to EXPRESS the POSITIVE through our words and works. Our situations may not change even if we decide to look at the bright side. But it enables us to endure our experiences.
What would happen if we seek to experience the power of prayer and to express the positive through our words and works? We will ENJOY the PEACE of God. Look at verse 7: “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” More than the solution to our problems, we need peace. There are those who are still troubled even if they have already settled their problems. Peace is not the absence of problems. But it is the calm in the midst of it. The world cannot give it to us. We ourselves cannot generate it. It is “the peace OF God.” He is the source of peace. We can’t explain it but we can experience it for it “transcends all understanding”.
In Greek, the word “guard” is “a military term picturing soldiers standing on guard duty, refers to the guarding of the city gate from within as a control on all who went out.”[12] In short, peace will serve as a garrison to our hearts and minds, that is, our emotions and our thoughts. It shields the areas most vulnerable to worry. Not only can we enjoy the peace of God, we can experience the God of peace Himself. Look at verse 9: “And the God of peace will be with you.” To drink water is one thing, to have the spring is another. We will have both the gift and the Giver.
When we faced the crisis of discovering that my youngest son, Derek, has autism, we took comfort in these words: “Where is God when it hurts? He is in you, the one hurting, not in it, the thing that hurts.”
May we prevail in prayer as we experience its power, express the positive through our words and works and enjoy the peace of God!
Let us pray…
[1]All Bible verses are from the New Int’l Version, unless otherwise noted.
[2]The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Abridged Edition (New Testament).
[3]James Huculak, A Manual for New Testament Exegesis: Delta Edition, Revised and Corrected (ISOT, 2006).
[4]1 Peter 5:7.
[5]The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Abridged Edition (New Testament).
[6]The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.
[7]The Expositor’s Bible Commentary Abridged Edition (New Testament).
[8]The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.
[9]The descriptions are from Dr. Narry Santos’ How God Works When We Are Worried And Weary.
[10]In English, “We ONLY have P1,000.”
[11]In English, “We STILL have P1,000.”
[12]The New Linguistic and Exegetical Key to the Greek New Testament.
