OVERCOMING ANXIETY WITH PRAYER AND THANKSGIVING

PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

          Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, let your request be made known to God. And the peace of God which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus (NKJV).

BACKGROUND

          An insurance agent was writing a policy for a cowboy. “Have you ever had any accident?” the agent asked.

          “No, not really,” replied the cowboy. “A horse kicked in a few of my ribs once. I got bit a couple of times by a rattlesnake, but that’s about it.”

          “Don’t you call those accidents?” demanded the agent. “Oh, no,” came the answer, “they did that on purpose.”

          I would like to share with you on the subject: “Overcoming Anxiety with Prayer and Thanksgiving.”

I.                  THE COMMAND NOT TO LIVE IN A STATE OF WORRY V. 6

Do you know that some Christians live in a state of anxiety? Although they

claim to be Christians they always worry about something. The truth of the matter is that the worry would not change the situation. Another thing is that many worry about things and circumstances they cannot change. If anybody had an excuse for worrying, it was the Apostle Paul. His beloved Christian brothers and sisters at Philippi were at odds with one another, and he wasn’t there to help them. We have no idea what Euodia and Syntyche were disputing about, but whatever it was, it was bringing division into the church. Along with the division at Philippi, Paul had to face the division among the believers at Rome (1:14-17). Added to this was the possibility of his own death. Paul was in jail when he wrote the beautiful epistle of the Philippians. He did not know what the Lord had in store for him. Yes, Paul had a good excuse to worry, but he did not!

          In this passage, the Apostle Paul under the inspiration of the Holy Spirit takes time to explain to us the secret of victory over worry. What is worry or anxiety? Someone has said that you know it is going to be a bad day when you wake up in a hospital in traction, and your insurance agent tells you, “Your accident policy covers falling off the roof, but not hitting the ground.” The Greek word translated anxious (careful) in verse 6 means, “to be pulled in different directions.” When the Lord births a dream or vision in your heart, your hopes pull you in one direction, but your fears pulls you in the opposite direction, and you are pulled apart! Do I have a witness in this house? Can anybody testify to this?

          The Old English root from which we get our word worry means, “to strangle.” If you have ever really worried, you know how it does strangle a person. In fact, worry has definite physical consequences: headaches, neck pains, ulcers, even back pains. Worry affects your thinking, your digestion, and even your coordination. In this passage God commands us not to be anxious or worry about anything. Why does God tell us to stop worrying about anything? It is because anxiety betrays a lack of confidence in God’s protection and care for His people, and the sentence of admonition recalls the words of Jesus in Matthew 6:25-34.

          From that spiritual point of view, worry is wrong thinking (the mind) and wrong feeling (the heart) about circumstances, people, and things. The heart is the source of your being, and the mind is the outflow. Worry is the greatest thief of joy. The reason why many Christians cannot experience joy is that worry the thief has stolen their joy. It is not enough to tell yourself to quit worrying, because that will never capture the thief. Worry is an inside job, and it takes more than good intentions to get the victory. The antidote to worry is the secure mind. When you have a secure mind, the peace of God guards you (v. 7) and the peace of God guides you (v. 9).

II.               THE COMMAND TO LIVE IN A STATE OF WORSHIP (VV. 6-7)

I love the word of God because it does not only tell us what we must not do as believers, but also what we must do. The word of God says that instead of worrying about everything, worship the Lord. This makes sense to me because being anxious about your circumstance will not solve the problem, but prayer will. The Apostle Paul says that the antidote to anxiety is prayer. The Lord through His servant Paul offers a timeless and universal remedy for anxiety. The antidote to anxiety and the prelude to the enjoyment of peace are found in prayer and thanksgiving. In prayer, anxiety is resolved by trust in God. Paul is saying that instead of worrying about things that you cannot change, and circumstances that are beyond your control, bring them to the One who is totally competent and in whose hands you can leave the problems. In thanksgiving, anxiety is resolved by the deliberate acceptance of the worrying circumstances as something, which an all-wise, all-loving, and all-sovereign God has appointed. Prayer takes up the anxiety-provoking question, “How?” How shall I cope? And it answers by pointing away to God, to His resources and promises. Thanksgiving addresses itself to the worrying question “Why?” Why has this happened to me—and answers by pointing to the Doer of all who never acts without purpose and whose purposes never fail.

     What the Apostle Paul teaches here is very important to understand. In a time of anxiety it is easy to retreat into a corner complaining to ourselves, but it is when we bring the matter to God that we find release. Some believers major in pity party instead of taking their anxious thoughts to the all-knowing and all-powerful God. The word of God is teaching us that our gaze should be so constantly upward that all of life is at once reflected as by a mirror, to the throne. The word prayer (Proseuchē) is general. It has to do with adoration, devotion, and worship. So the Apostle Paul says that when you find yourself worrying, your first action ought to be to get alone with God and worship Him. I have taught you the importance of singing praise and worship songs as part of your prayer life. Get some of the praise and worship CDs and spend time with the Lord in worship and you will leave that place in victory over anxious thought that has preoccupied your mind and heart. Adoration of God is needed in your life. You must see the greatness and the majesty of God. You must realize that God is big enough to solve your problems. Too often we rush into God’s presence and hastily tell Him our needs, when we ought to approach His throne calmly and in deepest reverence. Therefore, the first step in overcoming anxiety is adoration.

     The second step in getting rid of worry is supplication (deēsis). Supplication points to our lowly status as suppliants, beggars who don’t have the answer but bringing our needs to the Lord who has the answers. Supplication is an earnest sharing of our needs and problems not with men/women, but with God. In the presence of God, there is no place for half-hearted, insincere prayer! Supplication is not a matter of carnal energy but of spiritual intensity (Rom. 15:30; Col. 4:12).

     After adoration and supplication comes appreciation, giving thanks to God. Thanksgiving must accompany every Christian praying, as the one who prays acknowledges that whatever God sends is for his/her own good. Our heavenly Father enjoys hearing His children say, “Thank You!” When Jesus healed the ten lepers (Luke 17:11-19) only one returned to give thanks, and we wonder if the percentage is any higher today. We are eager to ask, but slow to appreciate. By the way, what is required in the vertical sphere is also required in the horizontal plane. When someone does something for you, don’t forget to thank him/her. An attitude of gratitude will drive away the anxiety that is eating your heart out. Paul says that you are to make every request known to God through adoration, supplication, and thanksgiving. The term requests,” (aitēma) responds to the question from the Lord, “What do you want Me to do for you” (Mark 10:51)? God through His servant Paul is saying that the high road to overcome anxiety and experience peace is for you to practice adoration, supplication, and thanksgiving. Paul counsels you and I to take “everything to God in prayer.” Don’t worry about anything but pray about everything. The problem that many Christians have is that they pray about the “big things” in life and forget to pray about the so-called “little things” until they grow and become big things! Talking to God about everything that concerns you and Him is the first step to overcoming anxiety.

     The result is that the peace of God guards your heart and mind. When Paul wrote this letter he was chained to a Roman soldier, who guarded him day and night. In like manner “the peace of God” stands guard over two areas that create worry for you and me—the heart (wrong feeling) and the mind (wrong thinking). When you give your heart to Jesus Christ in salvation you experience peace with God (Rom. 5:1); but the peace of God takes you a step further into His blessings. This does not mean the absence of trials on the outside, but it does mean a quiet confidence within, regardless of circumstances, people, or things.

     Daniel in the Old Testament gives a wonderful illustration of peace through prayer. When an edict was passed that nobody was to pray to anyone except the king, Daniel went to his room, opened his windows and prayed as before (Dan 6:1-10). Note how Daniel prayed, he “prayed and gave thanks before his God” (v. 10) and made supplication (v. 11). Prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving! And the result was perfect peace in the midst of overwhelming difficulty! Daniel was able to spend the night with the lions in perfect peace, while the king in his palace could not sleep (v. 18). The peace of God is not the absence of problems or difficulties. Peace is the presence of God in the midst of difficulties. When Jesus Christ rose again from the dead and showed Himself to His disciples, His first word to the cowering disciples was “peace be unto you.” When you make a difficult decision bathed in adoration, supplication, and thanksgiving to the Lord, He will guard your heart and mind and He will give you His peace, which passes all understanding. This peace passes all understanding because it is supernatural in nature. That is why unbelievers are baffled when a believer demonstrates calmness and peace in the midst of adverse circumstances. God is saying to you and me that if we worship Him, cry to Him, and demonstrate an attitude of gratitude, He will send His peace which passes all understanding to guard our heart and mind as sentries do at their posts. Roman sentries did not sleep at their post, so does the peace of God.

     The question that I have for you is that do you have the peace of God in your heart, or your life is filled with anxiety? You will not experience the peace of God until you have made peace with God through His Son Jesus Christ. People who are outside of Jesus Christ are at enmity with God, but God wants you to have peace with Him. In fact, God has taken the initiative in this peace transaction by sending His only Son to die for you on the cross. Come to Jesus to make peace with God and I can guarantee you that you will experience the peace of God, in your heart and mind. God has spoken to you but you have to take the step in order to have peace with Him. Until you have made peace with the Prince of Peace, you cannot have the peace of God. Are you anxious about anything? Then, you are a candidate for God’s peace, which is supernatural. Come to Him and He will give you peace and rest.