Prayer that Leads to Peace

Good morning. If you are joining us from our Trunk or Treat yesterday, I want to especially welcome you. You might be wondering when we will do the drawings. We’ll do them after the service. So stick around.

Today we are begining a new sermon series on Transformed communication. We communicate in so many ways. To other believers. To our coworkers, spouses siblings, friends, neighbors and random people on the internet. But today, we’re going to look at how we communicate with God in prayer changes everything about the rest of our communication.

Before we do that, let’s pray.

Introduction: It’s 4th and goal on the 1 yard line. there are 5 seconds left on the clock and you are down by 6. This is it you have to score. You aren’t even in the game. In fact you are at home watching on your TV on the edge of your seat. You are filled with worry and anxiety. At this moment you both love football and hate football.

For some reason the next 10 seconds can alter your mood for the rest of the day, week or even month…depending on who you are playing.

Ok maybe you don’t like football. Maybe it’s the ending to a book you are really worried the author is going to kill off your favorite character.

The remake of a favorite movie.

But is this really what anxiety looks like? Is this really worth worrying about? Of course not. And we know that.

These things are really just a fun distraction from things that really cause anxiety. Things that we really have to worry about. Because the world doesn’t hang on that.

It’s like that.

Because the things we really have to worry about are so scary they could keep us up at night.

Pandemics.

Wars

Fires

Hurricanes

Sickness

retirement.

Bankruptcy.

student loans.

And I haven’t even mentioned the worry that many feel about what’s going to happen this coming Tuesday.

We are worried about our future and our children’s future.

We are worried and anxious. How will we make it?

Praise God he has given us a solution to our worries and anxiety. He’s given us himself.

Transition to the Text: Turn with me to Philippians 4:4-9. I love this letter so much because it is so encouraging written from a guy who absolutely loves this church. And they love him. It’s filled with wisdom on how to navigate a lost and broken world by remembering that God is in control. We need not worry. All we need to do is pray.

Introduce: As we read this passage, let’s keep this in mind:

Transformational Principle: Transformed prayer leads to a transformed Mind.

Read:

Philippians 4:4–9 ESV

4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 8 Finally, brothers, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things. 9 What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me—practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you.

Transformational Principle: Transformed prayer leads to a transformed Mind

Transition to the Points: Let’s be honest, Paul and the Philippians had a lot to worry about. They had a lot to be anxious about. None of us would fault them. They were going through much worse than what we go through today. So if what Paul has to say will carry them, through, how much more will it carry us through.

1. Don’t worry about anything; pray about everything. (Philippians 4:4-6)

Explanation: The Philippians Church had a lot to worry about. They were facing increasing persecution at the hands of the Romans and as we learned in 4:10-20, they were worried about Paul.

So Paul wants them to be encouraged. Now if vs. 10-20 are in a sense, Paul saying, “Don’t worry about me, I’m good!” vs. 4-9 are saying, don’t worry about yourselves and your situation either.

And what we see here a call to a shift in their mindset. First he tells them to rejoice. In the midst of their circumstances, this seems odd, but not if you understand the way the mind works. Rejoicing even when it hurts takes your mind off the pain and puts it on something joyful. This was a common practice of Paul. Actually in the book of Acts 16, when Paul first help start the Philippian Church, we again find him in jail with his good buddy Silas. And what do we find him doing?

Acts 16:25 ESV

25 About midnight Paul and Silas were praying and singing hymns to God, and the prisoners were listening to them,

They were singing? Why do you think they were singing? They were practicing this idea of rejoicing in the midst of their circumstances.

Now this is not what pop psychology calls “The Power of Positive Thinking.” Paul wasn’t telling this church to think good thoughts.

He was telling them to think true thoughts! The worry and anxiety of this world are not true. All of this is fading away. Like Paul says in:

Romans 8:18 ESV

18 For I consider that the sufferings of this present time are not worth comparing with the glory that is to be revealed to us.

So don’t fake rejoice. Realize the truth that because of what Jesus has done and what is to come we can truly rejoice....NO MATTER WHAT!!!!!

And this should transform the way we communicate with God.

The Lord is at hand!!!!!

So do not be anxious about anything. Not that’s easier said than done. Now even though that is true, Paul doesn’t leave us there.

Paul goes on to tell us the antidote to anxiety and worry: Prayer!

Now the NLT says, “Pray about everything.” But there is a specific way we are to pray.

Supplication isn’t just a request. It’s an urgent request. It’s like, “God if you don’t show up, I can’t move kind of request. This is the way we are invited to pray. With urgency. “Not, God if you are there, I could really use some help.”

If you want to see this kind of prayer life, read the Psalms. David made powerful supplications. Now....

We are invited to bring our anxieties to God. “In Everything.” No God doesn’t have better things to do. he’s not too busy elsewhere. God wants you to pray to Him about everything. And He always has time!

I love

1 Peter 5:6–7 ESV

6 Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, 7 casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.

If you are His, God cares for you.

With thanksgiving: This is a reminder to remember all those times God has seen your through. For all the things that he has already done. Paul could confidently say things because he had lived this. He can remember all the times that God has delivered him from the hands of his enemies. All the times God has saved his life. God has always been there.

Illustration: I’m sure we can all agree that the last few months have been incredibly difficult for pretty much everything. And anxiety has been running high. Worries and anxiety.

A few nights ago, it all came to a head for me. I woke up in the middle of the night around 3 am to what felt like the beginnings of a panic attack. And as I lay there filled with worry and anxiety almost giving up getting back to sleep. This passage came to mind. And as I recited it from memory, I resolved to obey it. I prayed. I cast my anxieties on him. But more than thank, I started thanking God for all the things He has already done for me.

I thanked him for my family.

I thanked him for my health.

I thanked him for all of you.

I thanked him for when He has seen me through tough times.

I’m not sure how long I prayed, because before I knew it, my alarm was going off and it was time to get up.

I fought back the anxiety, worry and lies of the evil one with the Truth of God’s word!

Don’t worry about anything, pray about everything!

Application: In that moment, I experienced peace. And that should not be a surprise to me.

2. God promises that prayer will lead to peace of mind. (Philippians 4:7)

Explanation: The power of God’s truth spoken over our lives is the solution to anxiety. We receive peace.

Not just any type of peace. But peace that doesn’t make sense.

I think about all the great martyrs who stood firm in their faith in Jesus in the midst of great persecution. We can think of the heros of faith in Hebrews 11. Or people like Martin Luther standing before a corrupt church saying, “Here I stand, I can do no other.” What many people don’t realize is that prior to saying that, he had asked for 24 hours to pray. And prayer led to peace that didn’t make sense. He was about to lose everything.

The great Baptist Preacher Charles Spurgeon endured great depression in his life and ministry. His solution? Prayer.

Prayer doesn’t always take the problems away, but they help you to look at them differently. It shifts you focus to what is true.

There are 2 things here that Paul tells us that this peace will do. It will guard your heart and your mind in Christ Jesus.

The heart and the mind are the 2 points in our lives that satan attacks.

Our mind is where truth is embraced and experienced. So what truth are you embracing? The truth of the Word of God? Or the truth of the world.

Think about the way the world is right now. How do you know what to believe? In fact a great deal of anxiety is that many of us don’t know what to believe. The world is so full of lies.

Illustration: And we see this all the time in advertising. A few years ago I saw an add for Diet Doctor Pepper that said that it tastes just like regular Doctor Pepper. So I thought, what a great way to drink a beverage that I love and still maintain my current pant size. But I tried it and realized that advertising was lies. It doesn’t taste like regular Dr. Pepper.

That’s a meaningless example but many of us know that the media pushes truth narratives on all sides. How can we know what to believe?

We need to let the peace God guard our minds in Christ Jesus. We need to be grounded on the Word of God alone so that when we measure the world’s truth claims against the Bible, we will continue to have peace because we will know what to believe.

Our heart is the seat of emotions. Our hearts always responds to the world outside our doors. And our hearts are perhaps even more susceptible to the attacks of the devil. As the Proverb says:

Proverbs 4:23 ESV

23 Keep your heart with all vigilance, for from it flow the springs of life.

And this is another way that the world tries to convince you of it’s truth. It evokes an emotional response. We are preconditioned to response to a sob story. We can look past a multitude of sins if we can identify with people.

In some cases, we do need to give in to our heart. In fact the call of Jesus to follow Him is an emotional call and demands an emotional response.

But let’s not be led astray by every story that captivates our heart. Remember:

Jeremiah 17:9 ESV

9 The heart is deceitful above all things, and desperately sick; who can understand it?

Illustration: The heart is like a toddler that constantly needs to be watched or else you take your eyes off of it for a second and it somehow finds a sharpie and redecorates your walls.

Through prayer we get peace and peace helps us to guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. And remember there is no peace outside of Christ Jesus. Everything else is just a lie. Find your peace in Christ alone!

Application: And something else happens as we continue to look to Jesus for peace. Our minds are renewed and we are able to practice what Paul is preaching.

We are able to rejoice in the midst of all circumstances because we have a renewed mind.

3. A transformed mind thinks transformed thoughts. (Philippians 4:8-9)

Explanation: These verses are some of the most beautiful in all of scripture. Now as we look at the preceding verses. We see really that the first part of our passages this morning is about emptying our minds of those things that cause us anxiety and worry. We empty our minds by bringing those cares and anxieties to God and leaving them there. With this we get a peaceful mind.

But what does the peaceful mind think about now?

In eastern meditation talks about emptying the mind of all thought as a path to peace otherwise know as samadhi. But that’s not what we are talking about here.

While yes we want to empty our minds of anxiety and worry and negative thoughts. The goal of the Christians is to then fill our minds with God’s truth.

So Paul encourages the Philippian Christian to fill their minds with:

Honorable thoughts.

just thoughts

pure thoughts

lovely thoughts

commendable

excellent

Things worthy of praise

Think about these things.

Now this word think is not like daydreaming or letting your mind wander off. This word think is the idea like you are calculating the solution to a math problem. Or to consider deeply.

As many of us know, it’s not easy to discipline your mind to think about these positive things. Which is why the command to think comes only after you have taken your worries and anxieties to God in prayer. Only after you have emptied yourself of the world can you be filled with the all the goodness of God.

Illustration:

Application: One of the things that people worry about more than anything else is death. And because of that we often worry about what will happen after we die. It’s really the fear of unknown that grips us with anxiety.

But for Christians we have confidence that we will one day spend eternity with Jesus. This is actually the source of Paul’s rejoicing. He didn’t let the worries of this world get him down, because he knows that this life is not the end…in fact it’s only a small part of the story.

So he’s not going to consider this world worth worrying about. Because it’s fading away.

So his mind, transformed by the power of the gospel, thinks differently....thinks rightly about the beautiful amazing things of God!

And we can too.

Just consider that we were all dead in our sins and headed to an eternity apart from God. Yes Jesus came and died on the cross, paying the penalty of our sins so that we might spend eternity with Him. We have been freed from the bondage of sin and death and given new life as a new creation transformed by the power of the gospel

When we consider just have honorable, just, pure, lovely commendable, exellent and worthy of praise this amazing truth is, what do we have to be afraid of.

Consider this passage in Romans 8:

Romans 8:31–39 ESV

31 What then shall we say to these things? If God is for us, who can be against us? 32 He who did not spare his own Son but gave him up for us all, how will he not also with him graciously give us all things? 33 Who shall bring any charge against God’s elect? It is God who justifies. 34 Who is to condemn? Christ Jesus is the one who died—more than that, who was raised—who is at the right hand of God, who indeed is interceding for us. 35 Who shall separate us from the love of Christ? Shall tribulation, or distress, or persecution, or famine, or nakedness, or danger, or sword? 36 As it is written, “For your sake we are being killed all the day long; we are regarded as sheep to be slaughtered.” 37 No, in all these things we are more than conquerors through him who loved us. 38 For I am sure that neither death nor life, nor angels nor rulers, nor things present nor things to come, nor powers, 39 nor height nor depth, nor anything else in all creation, will be able to separate us from the love of God in Christ Jesus our Lord.

So let us:

Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Response: Are you worried about anything? Have you taken it to God in prayer?

Summation:

Closing Illustration:

One of my great heros of the faith is the great Baptist Preacher Charles Spurgeon. Not only was he an amazing voice for Christ in a time when the world was becoming more secularized. But he was also a prolific writer about his own struggles.

And what did the great Charles Spurgeon struggle with?

Depression. He described his depression as a “soul sickness.” Many believe that if he were alive today, he would be diagnosed as bipolar and medicated.

From his own writings, we can see that he suffered depression from illness, trauma, loneliness, mental exertion, fame, failure, weather, conviction, controversy, and of course criticism.

Spurgeon’s depression didn’t hinder his ministry – in fact, it helped it.

Spurgeon’s many faces gave the pastor a multi-faceted empathy for the problems facing his flock. That’s one reason Spurgeon was “the people’s preacher.”

Spurgeon called his depression “a prophet in rough clothing.” His weakness reminded him that, as humans, we are all designed from dust and like Paul was all the more willing to boast in his weakness.

Paul talked about his anxiety for the churches to the Corinthians:

After detailing his external trials that he endured. The apostle Paul turned inward to tell us of his inner struggle:

2 Corinthians 11:28 ESV

28 And, apart from other things, there is the daily pressure on me of my anxiety for all the churches.

Paul had worry and anxiety? How do you think he dealt with it? We already know from Philippians 4:4-9.

And for those who are in Christ....make sure you’re in Christ… the same cure is available to us as well. If we would just take it to God in prayer, we would have the same boast as Paul.

2 Corinthians 12:10 ESV

10 For the sake of Christ, then, I am content with weaknesses, insults, hardships, persecutions, and calamities. For when I am weak, then I am strong.

Let’s Pray.