Father, You are good. I choose to believe this today. I know that nothing is impossible with You. Forgive my unbelief and help me to truly trust You I everything. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Pray About It

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, 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 understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. —Philippians 4:4-7

“Just pray about it.” How many times have you heard that one? It just makes me crazy sometimes. I will be talking with another Christian brother or sister about something that is really causing concern in my life and they look at me and say, “Just pray about it.” And I’m thinking, “Oh, right!” Well, guess what, they’re right, sort of.

That’s not exactly what Paul is talking about in this passage. He’s saying, Let me teach you the right way to pray. You see, prayer is conversing with God about the real stuff. It is sitting on the bench along the path of peace and giving God all those things you are anxious about. It’s giving over to Him your fears and wrong thinking. It’s letting Him handle those things that He alone can do. And Paul also mentions supplication. That is sitting on the bench with God and believing that when you ask Him to do something about the things you can change, He will act to help you.

So we need prayer and supplication. Together, it’s a sincere request and humble appeal to Someone who has the power to grant the request. It’s not asking for a general “blessing” on everyone and everything. It’s earnest conversation about the real stuff that is going on in our lives and threatening to steal our peace.

God’s Word right here says not to be anxious about anything. So that begs the question: What kind of worry can we hold onto? None, my friend. Absolutely none. And what is worry that I hold onto called? Well, it’s called sin.

It’s called sin because of what we are really telling God in it. We are basically saying, God, I can’t trust You. You won’t come through for me. I believe the minute that we open our mouth and start to verbalize those words, the Holy Spirit will bring conviction into our life and condemn that kind of thinking. Then I can say to myself how foolish were those thoughts.

God promises to us the strength, wisdom, perseverance, power, and desire to do something about the things we should do something about. And it’s also letting go if the things that He alone must handle.

So, is something troubling you? Remember, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.” —Buddy Riddle