Spiritual Stability through Prayer

Take your Bibles and turn to Philippians chapter four. Our focus verses for today are verses six and seven. We are currently in a series in Philippians chapter four called spiritual stability.

This morning, as we continue our study, we will learn that spiritual stability is achieved through prayer.

Notice what Paul says in Philippians 4:6-7 “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.”

These two verses that we will study this morning are some of the greatest and grandest verses in the Bible. They are great because many Christians have found victory in applying these verses to their Christians experience. Grand because these two verses deal with one of the greatest enemies to spiritual stability, which is anxiety or worry.

We all experience anxiety. We experience anxiety when we go on that first date, or when we speak in front of people, or go on a job interview or take an important test. But there is an anxiety that goes beyond normal, an anxiety that becomes debilitating to our Christian experience.

According to the American Psychiatric Association, anxiety disorders are the most common of emotional disorders. Some 20 million people are affected by anxiety disorders each year.

When anxiety takes over, people experience overwhelming feelings of fear and panic, uncontrollable and obsessive thoughts, painful intensive memories, recurring nightmares, nausea, sweating, muscular tension and other physical reactions.

We may not have what psychiatrist would call an anxiety disorder, but we all experience anxiety. Why? We live in a sinful world and the tyranny of life and situations cause anxiety.

If we are going to achieve spiritual stability in our Christian experience, then we must overcome anxiety and worry.

I will be honest with you, one of my greatest struggles is trying to overcome anxiety.

Verses six and seven of chapter four show us two principles and the result of these two principles that will give us the victory we need to overcome anxiety.

What we learn first is this: if we are going to be spiritually stable in our Christian experience we must avoid worry.

You must avoid worry

Before we look at the first imperative of verse six, which commands God’s people to avoid worry, let me put these two verses in the larger context.

In verse four we have been commanded to “Rejoice in the Lord always.” In verse five we have been commanded, “Let your reasonableness be known to everyone.” Then Paul says at the end end of verse five, “The Lord is near. or “The Lord is at hand.” This phrase really helps us understand these commands.

As we noticed last week, we can be gentle in spirit because we know that the Lord is near in time. At any moment he can return and he will judge those without Christ, those who may be doing us wrong. He will take care of us.

But the Lord is near in space also. He is always with us, he knows our situation, and he will never leave us high and dry. Since God is always with us, then we need to be “anxious for nothing.”

Instead of worrying, realize how near God is and pray. Many of us have memorized verses six and seven, but we have not memorized with these verses “The Lord is near.” We can’t fully appreciate or appropriate what Paul is commanding us to do in verses six and seven if we don’t understand the nearness of god.

It sounds very easy when we say, don’t worry, just pray. But real human experience tells us that it is not that easy. It is easier said than done. I hope that as we look at these two verses that it will become clear on what steps we need to take to have victory over anxiety.

Let me make one more observation before we look at the command not to worry.

I don’t know about you , but when I am anxious it robs me of my joy and it tend not to be gentle in spirit to those around me.

I point this out to show you that the imperatives from last week are closely connected with the imperatives that we are about to look at this morning.

We must remember that avoiding anxiety is not only for our own comfort and peace, but it is also important for our Christian witness. People need to see that we are different, especially when it comes to the anxieties and worries of life.

Look at Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything”

This command is a disturbing command to me. It is disturbing because to disobey this command is a sin against God.

Have you ever shared your anxieties with someone and they told you “Worry is a sin”? That is why this verse is so disturbing. We are commanded not to be anxious, yet, more times than not we tend to be anxious and worry.

The Greek word translated “anxious” can have a positive or a negative meaning.

When it is used in a positive manner, it speaks of being concerned or caring for something.

When it is used in a negative manner, it speaks of having a divided mind.

Jesus told Martha that she was worried over many things. It speaks of being fretful and consumed with undue concern.

The admonition that Paul gives in verse six finds its source in the teachings of Jesus. Jesus admonished his disciples—on more than one occasion—not to be anxious.

This command “not to be anxious” does not imply that Christians should not plan or use common sense.

The meaning of this command is that Christians are not be anxious about life circumstances.

Christians are not to brood over and meditate on the things that worry us and cause us to be divided in our minds. This is the emotional state that we are to avoid.

If we are going to avoid anxiety then we need to understand how we get into this emotional state.

Notice what Paul says in Philippians 4:7 “7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

This tells us that it is our heart and mind that produces this unwanted emotional condition.

When Paul speaks of heart, he is not speaking only of emotions. He is speaking of the center of one’s personality.

There is an implication that Paul is making here concerning our heart and mind.

Martin Lloyd-Jones says, “What Paul is saying, in other words, is that we can control many things in our lives and outside our lives, but we cannot control our hearts and minds. This condition of anxiety, says Paul, is something, which, in a sense is outside your own control. It happens apart from you and in spite of you.”

That describes my experience. No matter how heard I try not to worry, my heart and mind do so in spite of me.

I can tell you of several occasions where I have been consumed with anxiety, to the point that I couldn’t sleep. I have lain in bed while my heart and mind went out of control. All night my heart and mind take a life situation and they say, “What if this happens?” or “What if that happens?” Then it takes over my imagination and I become agitated.

I can tell you of times when sickness or a situation confronted my wife or children or someone close to me and my love for them causes me to be anxious for their situation.

I will admit to you that when I fall victim to anxious thoughts I become useless. People can talk to me and I don’t hear a word they are saying because my heart and mind are running wild with a situation.

I don’t think I’m alone in my experience. The reality is that we fall victim to anxiety.

No matter how bad we desire to avoid it, our hearts and minds do the work apart from us.

We become victims of anxiety, yet, we are commanded to avoid becoming victims.

How do we do it? How do we avoid anxiety? If you are going to avoid anxiety…

You must appropriate prayerfulness

Paul follows the prohibition with a precept, and it is in the precept that we find the remedy for anxiety in our lives. He says in Philippians 4:6 “6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

The answer for anxiety is prayer. But is is really that simple?

I must admit to you that in my own battle with anxiety, prayer has not worked for me.

How many of you have been so anxious in your heart and you go and pray only to find that after you pray you are more anxious because you have no peace?

Does this mean that God’s word is not true? Absolutely not! I believe it is the result of not understanding this verse correctly and therefore we don’t apply it correctly.

The secret to understanding and applying this verse is found in three words: prayer, supplication, and thanksgiving.

In these three words we learn how to approach God with the kind of prayer that will bring peace to our hearts. Let’s begin with the word prayer.

The word that Paul uses for prayer is a general word that can means worship and adoration.

I believe Paul used this general word for a reason. When we are battling anxiety, are prayers must begin with worship. Before you ever make your supplications to the Lord you need to just come into his presence with adoration. Come into his presence and forget about your problems for a while.

I have been praying for the Lord to allow me to dwell in his presence and see his beauty. That is a good way to pray when you are anxious.

Instead coming to God focused on you problem, turn your focus on God, who is bigger than the universe, and bigger than your problems. Most don’t find victory over anxieties because they worship their problems, and not the Lord.

First, we come to God and we worship. After we have worshiped in his presence we make supplication.

This word supplication is speaking of our specific request.

Whatever we need the Lord to do, we give it to him. And let me just say that God wants us to make request for big and small things. First we worship, then we make our supplication.

But we don’t stop there. We must also present our worship and supplication with thanksgiving.

When ever we are battling anxiety, somehow we make God out to be our enemy. We are bitter with God because of our situation, and when we don’t get exactly what we want, it just gets worse, and our anxieties increase. Therefore, we must be thankful to the Lord.

We can be thankful that no matter what happens God is good and holy.

We can be thankful that we are saved and our suffering is not worthy to compare to the glories yet to be revealed.

We can be thankful that God is in control when all seems out of control.

We can be thankful that whatever has befallen us, God as allowed it to happen.

We can be thankful that God can take all things and work them for the good.

Watch what happens when you follow the order of worship, supplication, and thanksgiving when you make your request known to God.

You come to the Lord with anxieties, so you start by turning your focus on God and his presence in your life.

You worship and adore him for who he is and what he has done for you, and what he promises to do for you.

Then, and only then, do you begin to give him your supplications.

After you have laid your needs at his feet, you once again turn your focus on him through thanksgiving.

Do you see what happens? You turn your eyes away from your problem and you put them on your Lord.

When you properly appropriate prayer in your life, you will experience peacefulness.

You will experience peacefulness

Philippians 4:7 says, “ And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

The term “guard” is a military term. God’s peace will put a garrison around your heart and your mind and enable you to win the battle over anxiety.

The reason that it is called “peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension” is found in when it is experienced. It a peace that can be experienced in the midst of turmoil, in the midst of death, in the midst of chaos.

Notice what Paul didn’t say. He did not say that what you fear will not happen. It may very well happen, but you can have peace in the midst of it. Everything we worry about may come true, but you can have a peace in the midst of it that is hard to comprehend.

I have been reading a biography called “Hudson Taylor’s Spiritual Secret.” Taylor was the great missionary to China. One of his voyages back to China from England took four months by ship. For fifteen days of that four month voyage the ship experienced typhoons. All on board were sure they were going to die. Yet through it all, they were kept in a peace that surpasses comprehension. Maria, Hudson’s wife, was very anxious for her children. She wrote in her diary, “Through prayer, I have entered into Habakkuk’s experience “Yet I will rejoice in the Lord, I will be joyful in God my Savior.”

That is what you call spiritual stability through prayer.

Are you afraid today? Put your trust in the Lord. Are you anxious? Worship the Lord and his presence in your life, make your needs known to him, and thank him for who he is and what he has done. And watch as God gives you a peace that surpasses all comprehension.