Be Anxious for Nothing
Philippians 4:6-8
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
8 Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things.
We are instructed to be anxious for nothing. Or another way of phrasing this according to the text is to not be troubled with cares. When we are born into God’s kingdom, we have the assurance that God cares for our needs and God has a plan for us. The Bible says that God fashioned the days for me before I was born. When I surrender to Christ, that surrender includes giving God the controls of my life and letting Him lead be into the life He has fashioned for me. The only way be free from my anxieties is to rest confidently in His plan and submit to His will. Anxieties will not just disappear when I commit to trusting God. I must know His word and apply His word to my life. To be anxious for nothing, I must see God’s goodness, present my cares before the throne of grace and leave my cares in God’s hands. Lets begin by looking at what it means to let our requests be known through prayer, supplication and thanksgiving.
Prayer. Prayer is talking to God. If there is one thing the devil wants you to be slack on, it is prayer. Everything must be done through prayer. If prayer is neglected, your spiritual life will be weak and what you are trying to do for God will be weak. Look at Matthew 6:
5 " And when you pray, you shall not be like the hypocrites. For they love to pray standing in the synagogues and on the corners of the streets, that they may be seen by men. Assuredly, I say to you, they have their reward.
6 "But you, when you pray, go into your room, and when you have shut your door, pray to your Father who is in the secret place; and your Father who sees in secret will reward you openly.
7 "And when you pray, do not use vain repetitions as the heathen do. For they think that they will be heard for their many words.
8 "Therefore do not be like them. For your Father knows the things you have need of before you ask Him.
Jesus instructs us to pray from the heart but also warns us about two errors people can fall into. God doesn’t honor prayers done to show off our spirituality. God also doesn’t honor vain repetitions. This is not to be mistaken with persistence. Persistent prayers are commended in the Bible. Vain repetitions were pagan practices. They believed that the power was in the words and they would repeat specific ‘prayers’ or chant mantras. We see some of the same errors today. Pagans and some evangelical denominations influenced by pagan doctrine still believe that power is in words. They believe that positive words invoke good power and negative words invoke evil power. Words have no power. The power is in God.
God honors prayer that comes from the heart and not prayer or other actions that are done to show off our spirituality. A common question people ask comes from verse 8. "If God knows what I need before I ask, why do I need to pray at all?" We are to pray because we are commanded to pray. God does not need our prayers. He knows tomorrow and he has planned every step of our life. God even knows where our decisions will take us even when we choose to disobey and neglect His plan. Prayer does not reveal our needs to God, but prayer conditions our heart for God. Prayer teaches us to look to God. If I could go through life and never have to pray, I would take God for granted. In time, I would never think of God at all. Prayer is for my benefit. When I pray, it should remind me to stop and examine my life and my direction. I can’t pray to ask God to bless what I am doing. I should be asking God to lead me to where He is blessing.
Prayer is the time I spend with God. Prayer is a very important way in which God speaks to me. No relationship can grow without communication. God must be the center of my life in order for me to live abundantly as Jesus promised. There are many people who live in material abundance and are destitute spiritually. You can’t experience the abundance of the Christian life without an intimate walk with Christ. Without prayer, you can’t walk close to Him.
Supplication. Supplication means that we seek God and bring our cares and needs before Him. Hebrews 4:16 says, "Therefore let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace, so that we may receive mercy and find grace to help in time of need."(NASB). We can confidently come before God’s throne and freely receive His mercy and forgiveness and then we can seek His grace for our needs. Psalm 55:22 clarifies this even more by telling us to cast our burdens upon the Lord and He will sustain us. When we trust Him with our need, He will not allow us to be shaken. That is a great promise. The problem most people have is that they are unwilling to cast their burdens on God. They want to first see how God is going to handle the problem or they are not sure if He is able handle it, so they hold on thinking that they can do a better job that God can. To cast means literally to hurl it away from you. You can’t hold on if you throw it into God’s trust. If you pray and then pick it back up, you haven’t cast you burden on the Lord. God may test you to see if you really trust Him, but it is a promise that He will not allow you to be moved, or shaken.
One thing we must realize is that when we are commanded to bring our supplications and requests before God. This should lead us to examine our motives. In James 4 we are told that we do not have because we do not ask. If we ask and do not receive, it is because we are seeking to fulfill our lusts and not God’s will. When we ask, we should be reminded to look at our life and see how this fits into God’s plan. Am I asking for something that is going to fulfill God’s purpose or is this a self-centered request? It is God’s commands that lead us to His blessings. If you want to be blessed, seek out God’s commands. Seek God’s purpose and fulfill it and God will bless you. God eagerly longs to pour His blessings out on you, but you must first be faithful. When you seek the blessing you are not seeking God. Look at 1 John 3:22, "And whatever we ask we receive from Him, because we keep His commandments and do those things that are pleasing in His sight." If you are seeking to do the things that please God, you will ask with the right motives.
Supplication is also praying for others. Throughout scripture we are told to pray for others. Pray for their sickness; pray for their salvation; pray for their needs. We are told to pray for those in authority and in leadership. If we spent as much time praying for our politicians as we do criticizing them, we would see God moving. We are commanded to pray for our spiritual leaders and those who labor with us in God’s purpose.
Supplication is also praying for God to move. We pray for God to begin a revival. We pray for God to open the doors that we cannot open. Supplication is praying and seeking the things that God calls us to accomplish. God may command us to run the race and to fulfill His call, but that does not mean that there will not be opposition. Often times, when God calls you to His purpose, He will also lead you to a closed door. God can move a mountain and open any door, but it is yours and my responsibility to pray for God to move. When God burdens us to act upon His will, He also calls us to pray for Him to fight for the cause that He has put before us and we trust in His power to do it. God wants us to see His promises and claim them in prayer. When we know something is God’s will, we can confidently pray knowing that God will answer our prayer.
Thanksgiving. God blesses a thankful heart. When you give thanks, you put your focus on things worthy of thanks. Through thanksgiving you begin to see how God is working in your life. An unthankful heart will be unthankful even if they abound with blessings. A thankful heart gives glory to God. God is not glorified in a Christian who complains and sees only the negative things in life. 1 Timothy 6 tells us that to be godly and content with what God has given us is great gain. God didn’t promise us riches, God did promise us satisfaction and fulfillment. Until we are content with what God provides, we will not see the greater things in this life. Look at 1 Thessalonians 5:18, "in everything give thanks; for this is the will of God in Christ Jesus for you." In everything give thanks. The only way we can be thankful in everything is to first learn how to offer prayer and supplication. When I can leave my problems at God’s throne, I can trust in His promise that all things work for my good. Praise and thanksgiving is the best sacrifice we can offer to God. Look at Hebrews 13:
15 Therefore by Him let us continually offer the sacrifice of praise to God, that is, the fruit of our lips, giving thanks to His name.
16 But do not forget to do good and to share, for with such sacrifices God is well pleased.
This is God’s will. Being thankful shapes our heart and our thinking so that we can look at the deeper things of God. When we are lost in our self-worries, we can’t see anything other than our problems. When I am thankful, I am freed from my burdens and I can seek God. Thanksgiving leads me into a deeper relationship with God. This brings us to verse 8 of our beginning passage: "Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy -- meditate on these things."
"Finally". After we do these things – apply our hearts to seek God in prayer, bring our supplications before Him and present to God a thankful heart, finally we can get to meditation on the deeper things of God. When I am able to focus my mind on the valuable things of God, I will be at peace. When we do these things, the God of peace will be with you (verse 9). Meditate – or let your mind focus on these things:
What things are:
True. Focus your mind on the truth as revealed in God’s word. Know God’s word. Memorize it and allow it to become a part of your thinking.
Noble. Noble things are things of honor. Things that are noble are things that show high moral character. To think on what is noble is to think on things that direct us to virtue.
Just. To think on what is just is to think on what obeys God’s standard.
Pure. Think on things that put our minds on moral purity.
Lovely. Things that are lovely are things that are pleasing and pure.
Good report. Instead of allowing our minds to wander toward the negative and dwelling on things that anger or trouble us, we need to focus our meditation on reports that uplift us and focus us toward God.
Virtue. Moral excellence and modesty.
Praiseworthy. Think on things that make us stand in awe of God. Put your focus on things that call you to praise the handiwork of God.
The reverse of these things is to allow our mind to dwell on those who have offended us; or to think on things that cause us to worry or fret; or to let our minds wander on things that are immoral. Our thoughts will either draw us toward God or carry us away from God. Just remember that where your mind is focused, your heart will follow. If your heart is on the things of God, you will follow Christ into a deeper relationship. Joy comes from conforming our lives so that we are going in the direction God is going. When our hearts and minds are on the good things of God, we can then obey with our actions as well and know that God responds to our prayers because we are seeking Him. We also will have the confidence that the God of peace is with us. God will not change for us, we must get in His will. I challenge you to conform your prayer life on these principles. "The things which you learned and received and heard and saw ... these do, and the God of peace will be with you."
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