“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
Paul uses three words to describe the way we’re to fight anxiety—prayer, petition, and thanksgiving.
1. Prayer
That word “prayer”will cause some readers to lose interest, because they’re already convinced that they’ve tried this and it doesn’t work.
Ask yourself if you have really prayed about the things worrying you now. It is possible to think that we’ve prayed when in reality all we’ve done is worry on our knees, adding “Father” at the beginning and “Amen” at the end?
Prayeris entering the presence of God and filling your mind with who he is. Like a good marinade, let a sense of his greatness and glory permeate into the recesses of your mind—God is sovereign; God is good; God is for you; God is with you. True prayer begins as you allow these truths to soak into your mind.
2. Petition
Petitionsare specific requests that we bring before God. You might find it helpful to think of anxiety as a large bag that you carry on your shoulders. We aren’t always entirely sure what is worrying us, and we’re often afraid to look inside the bag to find out what’s there. The only way to fight back against worry is to open the bag.
Take that great burden off your back and open it up. Face your fears. Bring them out of the darkness where they thrive. Put them into words and bring them to God. That’s petition. Spell out your “what ifs” to him, and keep in mind the greatness of God. That’s why marinating your mind in truth comes first. You need to know that God is great enough to handle the darkest fear in the corner of the bag.
3. Thanksgiving
Cultivate the practice of bringing to mind the great things God has done for you. Thanksgiving refreshes your soul and brings joy to the heart of God.Thanksgivingexpresses confidence in God: “I know you’re with me. I know you’re for me. So whatever happens, I trust you, and I’m grateful that my life is in your hands.” God wants to hear our requests; he also invites us to count our blessings.
For further reading, see Ephesians 1.
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