Choosing Prayer Over Worry

The President of the United States and his government, the Center of Disease Control, World Health Organization, conspiracy theory, Coronavirus itself, and the news outlets have placed the world in state of worry. Both Christians and non-Christians have found themselves worrying about a virus, that has killed and infected countless people around the world at an alarming rate. It has caused states and cities to shutdown and has disrupted our normalcy of life.

This disease seems to be getting out of control. No one is seeing eye to eye on how to control or respond to it. Our greatest fear has been the shortage of supplies and medical facilities needed to address the potential disaster that is lurking. Some people are careless, while some have developed OCD obsessive-compulsive disorder. If its not controlled soon, the time will come where we will not trust anyone coming to our homes, nor those who leave our homes.

So, how do we deal with this matter? On the surface there is much to worry about. But the Scripture helps up to understand that prayer is better than worry.

Paul in his final appeal to the Philippian church encourages them to stand firm. This is to be done by working together in agreement, rejoicing always despite ones circumstances, allowing others to see your gentleness, focusing on positive things, practicing what you have been taught from your spiritual leaders and praying instead of worrying. If they stand firm in these things, the result will be God’s peace in their lives, that surpasses all understanding.

This is where I want to park today in verse six (6). Prayer over worry.

Standing firm in your faith requires choosing prayer over worry.

What can we do to accomplish this? The text gives us two commands to follow.

Don’t Worry About Anything

Paul commands the Philippian congregation not to be anxious about anything.

What does it mean to be anxious?

To be overly concerned or worried, based on the suspicion or fear of possible danger or misfortune.

When it appears some are doing things with the wrong motivation, don’t worry.

When you are face with a pandemic that can bring both danger and misfortune, don’t worry!

Jesus says in (ESV) “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

Do Not Be Anxious

You don’t have to hoard all the food at the grocery store. Hoard all the disinfectant. Hoard all the water and bullets. You don’t have to worry about the doctor’s visit, your money problems, your legal situation. You don’t have to go underground.

25 “Therefore I tell you, do not be anxious about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink, nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothing?

We’ve been seeking a vaccine, seeking shelter, seeking isolation and seeking security, but it’s time to stop seeking things and seek God?

So what can you do to stop worrying?

Ask God In Everything

Paul exhorts the Philippian congregation to let God know about everything.

Paul’s thrust to the Philippians is this, “let your requests be made known.

Requests is plural suggesting you may have many of them.

Although God knows what you need, you need to send a formal message to the One In Charge.

You have to let Him know what it is that you need.

Let me say it this way, “You have to tell God about it.”

How were the Philippians to tell God?

First by prayer. It starts with a petition to God. They have to speak to God and and ask Him for what they want or need.

By supplication, meaning there are times when they have to make an earnest or urgent request to God. Sometimes they need to make a plea to God.

Jesus made an earnest and urgent request as he prayed in the garden of Gethsemane.

(ESV) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

With Thanksgiving, they needed to express gratitude and show appreciation for what God has done, is doing and will do.

(ESV)

In short, if you put in God’s hand, he will work it out for the world to see.

With Thanksgiving, they needed to express gratitude and show appreciation for what God has done, is doing and will do.

(ESV)

(ESV) First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world.

(ESV) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

Longing to Go to Rome

(ESV) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

3 Commit your work to the Lord,

8 First, I thank my God through Jesus Christ for all of you, because your faith is proclaimed in all the world. (ESV) Commit your work to the Lord, and your plans will be established.

In short, if you put in God’s hand, he will work it out for the world to see.

and your plans will be established.

So church stop worrying today. God has given us a vaccine for worry, and its called prayer.

You personally don’t have a cure or vaccine.

You personally don’t have a cure or vaccine.

Start telling God about what you’re going through or dealing with. Tell God about the Coronavirus. Start talking to God about your conspiracy theories of mass depopulation, new world order and martial law. Start talking to God about your education and your job. If its urgent to you, make your plea to Him. And before you finish don’t so caught up, that you forget to tell the Lord thank you. Because this isn’t the first pandemic man has caused, that God had to fix. The first and worst pandemic happened in a place called the Garden of Eden. Where one man brought sin into the world, and it infected all humanity. And since that man couldn’t fix it, God sent a cure in Jesus and vaccine in the Holy Spirit. You can die with coronavirus and still go to heaven, but if die in sin, you‘ll end up in hell. Since worry is a sin, make sure you have Jesus

That problem that I had

I just couldn't seem to solve

I tried and I tried

But I kept gettin' deeper involved

That pain that would not move

Had me prayin' in the upper room

That burning that I bore

Just wonderin' how much more

So I turned it over to Jesus

And I stopped worryin' about it

Turned it over to the Lord

(He worked it out)

Jesus

(Jesus can work it out)

If you let Him

(Jesus can work it out)