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.
Philippians 4:6-7
Keep on Knocking
This verse is nothing but good news for the believer!
As a fallen creature, my mind is particularly prone to anxiety and worry. It troubles me not to be able to see ahead and predict the outcome of the most worrisome situations.
And the Lord knows this! He knows my mind and He knows how easily I fall prey to fear and doubt His good will for me. He has not simply given me over to my anxiety with no chance of relief. He has given me, and all those who call upon His name, a gift so that we need not always live in fearful apprehension of what may or may not come to pass.
When Christ died on the cross He gave us direct access to God the Father. The veil in the temple, separating man from God, was torn in two. The proper cleansing and the sacrifice necessary to be in the presence of God was satisfied in Christ’s death and resurrection. Because of this, I can come to the throne of the God I love, and who loves me with an unwavering love, and lay my requests at his feet knowing full well that He hears me.
We are permitted to go to God with our prayers and petitions. And this is not just a suggestion but a command. The Lord has created a way to rid us of our anxiety and worry and give Him the full weight of all our troubles. What a gift! What an immense kindness to us, His children!
We are entreated elsewhere in the scriptures, to not simply petition once for our requests, but every time they come to mind. For God knows that our troubles consistently darken our minds. Remember the persistent widow from Luke chapter 18? The one who kept coming to the unrighteous judge, day in and day out, asking for justice? And Jesus said:
“And will not God bring about justice for his chosen ones, who cry out to him day and night? Will he keep putting them off?” – Luke 18:7
Our good, good God knows us and our anxious minds. He knows we need to ask Him, over and over, for what we desire in order for us to find our peace in Him and to renew our hearts.
With Thanksgiving
It’s sometimes very easy for my mind to skip over parts of scripture and only read the parts that evoke some type of emotion in me. But there are two words in this verse from Philippians that are important in understanding the attitude in which we are commanded to come to the Lord with our requests.
Did you catch them?
With thanksgiving…
This is important, for it describes the lens with which we are to see our requests as we lay them before the Lord. We should ask for what it is we want while always being mindful of all the blessings we already have. Never should we approach God’s throne with the mindset that we can only be happy, we can only feel blessed, if we could just have what we are asking for.
Presenting our requests to God, with thanksgiving, changes our perspective and our prayers. When we come to God with our thanks, we come to Him with the understanding that He has provided for us abundantly thus far in our lives, and whether or not he grants our particular requests, He will provide again. With thanksgiving changes the way we bend our knees and ask God for things. We recognize that His provision is certain, and His provision is good and we frame our requests with this in mind.
I stand in awe of the prophet Daniel when I think of examples in scripture of people who came to God with their requests with thanksgiving on their hearts. Here’s what it says in Daniel chapter 6 after King Darius signed a document making it illegal to pray to anyone other than him, punishable by death in a lion’s den:
When Daniel knew that the document had been signed, he went to his house where he had windows in his upper chamber open toward Jerusalem. He got down on his knees three times a day and prayed and gave thanks before his God as he had done previously.
Daniel 6:10
In the face of almost certain death, when his requests would be most urgent, the Bible says that Daniel “gave thanks before his God.” When he had everything to lose, Daniel was still grateful for everything he had already gained. In the face of death, Daniel did not hesitate to lift up his thanks.
Oh that I would be like Daniel and never forget to offer my requests with heartfelt thanksgiving!
Peace that Surpasses Understanding
What Daniel knew, that drove him to his knees three times a day, is that God always gives us what we need when we come to Him with our requests with thanksgiving on our hearts. While our particular requests may not be resolved in our timing, God promises an immediate and perfect gift: A peace from Him that surpasses our understanding.
It is a peace that calms and assures our anxious hearts.
It is a peace that renews our resolve to keep asking in prayer.
It is a peace that “guards our hearts” and keeps them hidden in Christ.
It is a peace that “guards our minds” and helps us to see our situation from a Biblical perspective.
It is a peace beyond our comprehension that comes from God alone who not only sees our troubles, but has entered into them with us through the person and work of Jesus Christ.
What great joy there is in offering the deep requests of our hearts, with a heart of thankfulness for all that He has already done, to the Lord who hears and sees, and who offers us His peace to keep us from all anxiety!