Prayers for the Anxious Heart

The section of Scripture that we will be looking at for this study is Philippians 4:4-7. Something that we have noted throughout this series is the presence of joy in the lives of believers. Paul is writing to the Philippians as he is imprisoned in Rome, living under less than ideal circumstances, and yet Paul does not write like one that is chained and awaiting trial before the most powerful man in the world. Philippians is one of the most joy-filled letters of the New Testament. Paul uses the Greek word for joy or rejoice 16 times in the span of 104 verses. That’s about once every 6-7 verses. We are going to see two of those instances in what we are going to read in this study. Let’s go ahead and read Philippians 4:4-7. Paul writes,

Philippians 4:4–7 ESV

Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Verse 4 is where we see the central theme of the entire letter to the Philippians: Believers are to rejoice in the Lord always, regardless of their circumstances. What we will do for the rest of our time together is see how joy in the Lord always connects to verses 5-7 and how the things that Paul calls us to in these verses becomes substantially easier as we grow in knowledge of the Lord and grow in the joy that we find in Him.

Reasonable Joy (Verses 4-5)

Christians are commanded to rejoice. Paul writes that we are to rejoice always and in case we somehow missed it, he repeats this command in verse 4. The rejoicing that we do is repetitious and never completed. Paul is writing this command as something that is required and ongoing. We should not be a people that rejoiced in the Lord in the past; we should be a people whose rejoicing is constant and continual. Now one thing to emphasize in these verses, and throughout the book of Philippians, is that joy does not mean that we just have an idiot grin on our faces throughout our entire lives. It doesn’t mean that we have to be happy as we go through tremendous difficulties, it doesn’t mean that we should be a people of one emotion, but it does mean that one’s joy in the Lord is never tainted by circumstances. God remains the same regardless of what is going on around us. He is the Sovereign King over all and His love for His people can never be improved upon in any way. It is because we know that God is in control and that He is constant that our joy that is rooted in Him can continue regardless of worldly circumstances. Notice at the beginning of verse 4, Paul commands that we rejoice in the Lord. We don’t rejoice in worldly circumstances or in our own physical prosperity, our rejoicing is centered upon God and God alone. John Calvin summarizes the joy that Paul writes of when he says, “The sum, then, is that, come what may, believers, having the Lord standing on their side, have amply sufficient ground for joy.” Christian joy seems totally unreasonable to a world that is focused on the here and now. The world does not process things through the eyes of eternity so for Christians to rejoice regardless of their circumstances, this seems totally unreasonable to an unsaved world but Paul recognizes this and that is why he says in verse 5 that we are to let our reasonableness be known to everyone. Some translations will translate reasonableness as gentleness and you might be thinking, “Hold on, why do we let our reasonableness be known to everyone?” Well, the reasonableness or gentleness that we have towards others shows where our joy is found. Our reasonableness is a response to our ongoing rejoicing in the Lord. So, if someone asks you, “Why do you live in such a way? How are you able to respond in such circumstances?” Our answer is hopefully, “I rejoice in the Lord always and that is why I am the way that I am!” One other reason why we let our reasonableness be known to others is because of what Paul says next: The Lord is at hand. We know that the Lord Jesus could come at any moment and that when He returns, He will make all things new. It is also a reminder that the Lord is near to His people and because He is near to us, He is able to give joy to our often troubled hearts. Let’s see how this phrase: The Lord is at hand, relates to what Paul says next in verse 6.

Because the Lord is at Hand; do not be anxious

Paul says in Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” Here we see verse 5 working in both directions. Our reasonableness is possible because we know that the Lord is there, is coming soon, and this motivates the People of God in all that they do. The Lord’s proximity is also a reminder to the people of God that they do not have to be anxious about anything. What does worry and anxiety add to the life of the Christian? Nothing! Jesus tells us in Matthew 6:25 “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?” For us as Christians to live in a constant state of anxiety is contrary to the peace of God which surpasses all understanding. I know that there are a lot of anxious people in the world. I know that there are a lot of anxious people in the Church. I know that there are times where I am one of them but if the Lord is at hand and everything happens according to His will, if I am trusting in Him to do what needs to be done, not just in my life but in the lives of all people, I really do not have anything that I will need to worry about. God is not losing sleep at night with what is happening in the world and if we trust Him to take care of our greatest spiritual need, we can trust Him to take care of that which we truly need in our physical lives. Steven Lawson writes, “It is worth asking yourself: what is there in my life that causes me a sense of panic, either low-level or almost paralyzing? Realize that God is not worried. There is no panic in heaven, but only plans to work out his good purposes in your life. There is no need to worry. There is no excuse for worry. Do not worry is both a command to trust the Lord and an invitation to enjoy peace with the Lord.” Knowing that we are often anxious people, how are we to confront it when it arises? How do we find joy even when we are anxious? Paul points to prayer as the answer. Let’s look at the last half of verse 6 and verse 7 quickly. Paul writes in Philippians 4:6-7

Philippians 4:6–7 ESV

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

Thanksgiving and the Peace of God

Our prayers should be soaked with thanksgiving. I will admit that these verses have done more for my prayer life than almost any other section in Scripture in regards to prayer. It may not seem like a huge deal but I remember at the end of my junior year of college, I was hoping to stay the summer in Lynchburg but I needed a job to be able to do it. I applied to a bunch of different places and nothing was working out and I was starting to get really discouraged because I had my hopes set on just staying in Lynchburg with Lora and some of my closest friends. One night I came across Philippians 4:6-7 and I remember thinking, “Man, my prayer life needs to change.” Instead of asking God for this, that, and the other, I started praying to thank Him for everything that He has already given me. I thanked Him that He had provided everything that I truly needed and as I focused on thanksgiving, I found more and more come to mind of what God was already doing in my life and what He had already done. It got to a point where I said, “God thank you for what you are doing now in my life and if you want me to stay in Lynchburg this Summer, I trust you to provide the means to do that and if you don’t, I trust that there is a reason behind it.” It wasn’t long after that before I did get a job for the summer and I thanked God the moment that it happened. Now I want to emphasize that just because you thank God in prayer, that does not mean that you are always going to get exactly what you ask for. We can be thankful in our prayer lives and ask for a million dollars and never get the million dollars. It also doesn’t mean that we should only thank God in our prayer, the Lord certainly does want us to bring our requests to Him but our prayer lives shouldn’t look like a Christmas list. It shouldn’t just be a long list of things we want, it should be a conversation with our Heavenly Father. To be thankful in our prayer lives as we make our requests known to the Lord means that regardless of the circumstances that we find ourselves in, we are thankful for what God has already done. The greater our thanksgiving, the greater our joy in the Lord will be because we recognize that He is moving and that He does provide. He has already provided that which is most important for us in His Son. So, in all things, let us give thanks to the Lord. Finally, Paul tells us that the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I don’t want to spend too much time on this since we are already pushing it on time but this circles back to what Paul says in verses 4 and 5. As we continue to rejoice in the Lord and are reminded that He is near and coming soon, our hearts and minds are caught up in our affections for Jesus. We’ll finish with this quote from Charles Spurgeon because of how great he describes the peace that the man and woman of God has when he or she is reminded of the God that has saved them: “The man who believes in Jesus and is reconciled to God has nothing outside of him that he needs to fear. Is he poor? He rejoices that Christ makes poor men rich. Does he prosper? He rejoices that there is grace to sanctify his prosperity lest it become intoxicating to him. Does there lie before him a great trouble? He thanks God for his promise that as his day his strength shall be. Does he apprehend the loss of friends? He prays that the trial may be averted, for he is permitted so to pray, even as David begged for the life of his child; but, having so done, he feels sure that God will not take away an earthly friend unless it be with kind intent to gather up our trust and confidence more fully to himself. Does there lie before him the prospect of speedy death? The hope of resurrection gives peace to his dying pillow. He knows that his Redeemer lives, and he is content to let his body sleep in the dust awhile. Is he reminded by Scripture of a day of judgment when all hearts shall be revealed? He has peace with regard to that dread mystery and all that surrounds it, for he knows whom he has believed, and he knows that he will protect him in that day. Whatever may be suggested that might alarm or distress the believer, deep down in his soul he cannot be disturbed, because he sees his God at the helm of the vessel holding the rudder with a hand which defies the storm. This is peculiarly advantageous in days like these when all things wear a dreary aspect. The storm signals are flying, the clouds are gathering, flashes of lightning and grumblings of distant thunder are around us. If you read the papers, wars and rumours of wars are incessant; your eyes light upon narratives of famine and drought; you see distress here, slackness of business there, and poverty and starvation in many places, and the fear creeps over you that there are dark days yet to come, and seasons in which faces will grow pale and hands hang heavy. Brethren, it is for the believer in such a case to feel no dismay, for our God is in the heavens, and he doth not forsake the throne; his purposes will be fulfilled and good will come out of evil, for at this very moment God. sitteth in the council-chambers of kings, and ordereth all things according to the counsel of his will.” Let’s go the Lord in prayer.