June 20, 2019

BIBLE READING: Philippians 4

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

“In everything”
Do you pray about everything? I’m sure that most of us would have to answer no, but should we be? Isn’t this what God’s word is teaching us? Isn’t this teaching that prayer should be our first step, not our final desperate step? Shouldn’t prayer be our first action instead of our final reaction> Shouldn’t we talk to God first about things instead of quickly talking to so many others before ever mentioning it to the Lord? We shouldn’t wait until we are so burdened down with the care of circumstance before we finally and desperately go to God in prayer?

It almost seems as if the act of going to God in prayer fixes more than the answer God may give to the prayer. I have often found that God may not do anything that I had asked, but it sure did help me to go to him in prayer. In fact, verse seven says that the peace of God will keep your hearts and your minds. It never says that the prayer would be answered the way in which you requested. It doesn’t say the “provision of God” will keep your hearts, it says the “peace of God” will.

So, the principle of keeping your heart and your mind stable through Christ Jesus centers more around prayer than the answer to the prayer. God’s answer may or may not change your circumstances but praying and going to God will change you. I encourage you today to try your best to go to God in prayer about everything that comes your way, such as an unexpected happening, a conflict, or any little decision. Just try for today and see if you can bathe everything in prayer. Prayer brings peace, even if the prayer doesn’t bring changes.