Philippians 4:6-7, Part 2

The Scripture verse Philippians 4:6-7 tells us we are not to be anxious about anything.

It tells us we are to instead humbly present our requests to God by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving.

Some Bible translations use the word supplication instead of petition.

What exactly does petition/supplication mean?

It means to make a formal request.

Instead of, “Hey, I want you to work on this”, or, “this needs your attention,”, it is a carefully considered request politely and humbly expressed.

We are asking the God of the Universe for something we want or need. Honor, reverence, and respect is required.

We can make requests about any situation, or anything we see, feel, or experience. It doesn’t even have to be for or about us.

In fact, we can, and should, petition for others. 1 Timothy 2:1 tells us “…petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving should be made for all people…” (NIV)

It’s important to remember that petitions should be made in agreement with Scripture.

God will not grant requests that go against His will or His Word.

Consider this verse:

This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to His will, He hears us 15 And if we know that He hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of Him. ~1 John 5:14-15 (NIV)

Did you catch that? If we ask anything according to His will…

Our petitions must be in agreement with His will.

That’s one of the reasons why knowing what Scripture says is so important.

If we know a request we have doesn’t agree with what Scripture says, we can adjust our petition and/or ourselves to more properly reflect what God’s will is. This puts us in a position to be heard.

Once we know God has heard our request, we can thank Him and trust that He will respond.

It may take a while for the answer to come and/or the situation to change, but we can be sure He is working on it and will bring about the best outcome for all involved.

This is the best response we can hope to receive for any petition we might bring before Him.

 

What petitions do you want to bring before God today? Will you remember to submit them with thanksgiving?

 

 

For further reading

1 Timothy 2:1 …petitions, prayers, intercession and thanksgiving be made for all people… (NIV)

My post on Philippians 4:6-7
My post on How to Give Thanks

 

 

Category: New Testament, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT

Philippians 4:6-7

One verse I often pray is Philippians 4:6-7 (read more about praying Scripture here).

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. (NIV)

The verses specifically tell us we are not to be anxious about anything.

At it’s core, being anxious means we are worried about a situation and how to handle it. We are concerned it won’t turn out like it should or that there is no hope.

But look at the rest of that sentence:

“…by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”

In other words, when we are worried or upset about something we are to go to God and present our requests to Him. We do this by praying to Him.

We are to pray and ask God for what we need and for help with whatever the situation is.

We are to thank Him for His help and for considering our requests, trusting that He will move on the issue.

When we do this with an honest and humble heart, God responds by giving us His peace which guards our hearts and minds in Christ.

This is not just any peace. It’s a peace so wonderful it can’t even be understood.

It’s this peace we get when we trust God with our burdens that eliminates our anxiety.

It guards our hearts because we’ve chosen to trust God.

Some might say, “but He’s God. He already knows everything. Why doesn’t He just handle it?”

There are several reasons for that. Here are two:

1-He wants us to come to Him and ask because this improves our relationship with Him. By seeing Him respond to our requests, we see firsthand He does answer our prayers, which causes us to trust Him even more. This strengthens our faith and causes us to grow closer to Him. We are reminded that He is always there and that we can go to Him at any time.

2-He wants to remind us of Who He is. When we go to Him in prayer we are reminded that He is the One, True, Living God. He is the God who holds the world in His hands. By going to Him we are reminded of the proper order of things and that we were created for Him, not the other way around. This puts us back into proper alignment concerning authority and helps us to remember it is not about us, it is about Him.

It is this remembering who He is and putting Him in His proper place in our lives that allows us to live free of thinking we have to handle things ourselves, which is what causes the anxiety in the first place.

The next time you feel anxious, stop, pray, ask God to move on it, then thank Him for working in your life and your situation.

Then, trust and watch for Him to help you.

No, the situation might not always turn out the way you would like it to, but you can have the peace of knowing that God is working on it and that He will help you with it in a way only He can, and that whatever happens, He has His hand on it.

What situation will you prayerfully ask Him about today?

 

 

For further reading

“Come boldly unto the throne of God…” Hebrews 4:16 NIV
“We are His workmanship, created…” Ephesians 2:10 NIV

My post on How to Give Thanks
My followup post to this one: Philippians 4:6-7, Part 2

 

 

Category: Faith, New Testament, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT

Saul of Tarsus

Saul was a Jewish man who lived during the early days of the Christian church.

He was a scholar who spent a lot of time studying Jewish religious law. He was very zealous for the Jewish traditions and learned more about the laws than the other men his age.

Saul hated Christians and spent a lot of time persecuting them.  He was present at the time of the stoning of the apostle Stephen, witnessing it and giving his approval of it.

That same day a great religious persecution broke out and Saul went house to house dragging out Christians and throwing them in prison.

He really believed he was doing the right thing and that by destroying Christianity he could protect the Jewish traditions he so dearly loved.

He did so many other violent acts towards Christians on a regular basis that his reputation was known far and wide.

The last time he tried it, he went to the high priest and asked for paperwork to take to the synagogues (Jewish houses of worship) in Damascus. He wanted to gather up any Christians there and take them back to the prison in Jerusalem.

As he neared Damascus a bright light from heaven flashed around him. He fell to the ground.

A voice said, “Saul, Saul, why do you persecute me?”

Saul asked who it was.

“I am Jesus, whom you are persecuting. Now get up and go into the city, and I will tell you what you must do.”

Saul got up and immediately realized he was blind.

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Category: Galatians, New Testament, People in the Bible, Scripture Study | LEAVE A COMMENT