Lord’s Day, Vol. 8 No. 47

In Everything by Prayer

⁶ Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. ⁷ And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 (KJV)

Prayer is communion and fellowship with God. It is the highest form of human communication as it touches on the divine. It brings with it a transcendent value to meet our present and future needs. Its purpose encompasses all aspects of the believer’s life impacting his eternal well-being. 

The importance of prayer is as oxygen that supports the very life and continued well-being of the human body. When a man meets with God, he is ushered into the supernatural, made possible, through Christ Jesus, Who by His life and death and resurrection opened the way of access and communication with our heavenly Father. What a privilege!

Prayer brings a believer from a state of worry to a state of worship and culminates in a state of weal. The word “weal” means a sound, healthy or prosperous spiritual state; a state of spiritual well-being. The word means “to be strong, to avail, to prevail”. It has a primary sense of strength, soundness, a state of well-being.

The restfulness that comes with a heart connected with the Giver and Sustainer of life is immense. It is described as a peace beyond comprehension, a settled heart, established upon the truth of who God is and His care for our eternal good and well-being. This is the power of prayer in the believer’s life. We shall meditate upon developing the spiritual discipline of prayer in the believers’ life.

Prayer, it is testified here by the Apostle Paul, has the power to help the believer through the anxieties of life. It has such potency to allay our fears and worries that it is to be the primary and sole recourse for the believer through the vicissitudes of life. What is the season of life for you right now? You will find that prayer is effectual to meet your needs. It is the impetus for action and life that is in accordance with the will of God. 

It is drawing upon the unlimited resource of omnipotence, omniscience and omnipresence of God for our spiritual well-being. A cautious, calming, correct way to build the Christian life. 

This is the counsel of a prisoner in Rome, for the Apostle Paul said these words in the midst of such incarceration. He was in chains yet he was able to allay the fears of the church in Philippi to trust God and continue to seek Him for He is still on the throne. He is very much concerned for His suffering saints. Prayer enabled the Apostle Paul to overcome the hardship of prison life so that the will of God may be fulfilled that the gospel be carried to the very heart of the Rome empire bringing honour and glory to God in the Name of Jesus Christ.

(1) Be Not Anxious (v6a)

6 Be careful for nothing …

For nothing you should be anxious/distracted. Paul is not worried though in prison. He bids them to stop such worry. He commands them to stop worrying. Why worry when you can pray?

Worry shifts the focus of attention from the all sufficient power of Christ to your human insufficiency and insecurity. Ultimately, worry can undermine your Christian witness by presenting God as impotent and unworthy of praise. It brings dishonour to God.

(2) Be Prayerful – Specific (v6b)

… but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

The burdens of life can often be so overwhelming at times that they threaten to rob the believer of his confidence in God’s ability to help him through yet another impasse. My prayer is that you would be convinced in your heart that God is able and will help you and ask that you will choose to seek Him and commit and surrender your life to His complete care for you – 1 Peter 5:7 (KJV) ⁷ Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.

The adversative “but” provides the turning point in the believer’s woes. There’s light for a look at the Saviour, and life more abundant and free. The psalmist testified in Psalm 116:1-2 (KJV) ¹ I love the LORD, because he hath heard my voice and my supplications. ²  Because he hath inclined his ear unto me, therefore will I call upon him as long as I live. A prayer-filled or “prayer full” life is the strongest assurance to live a victorious Christian life against the world, the devil and the flesh.

(3) Be Endowed with God’s Peace (v7)

7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

We cannot begin to figure it out, God’s supernatural endowment of His presence to still your heart, you may say “It Is Well with My Soul” although the turmoil of life’s trials is hot on our heels. 

The word “peace” comes from the Greek verb eirō which means “to join” and the noun eirēnē refers to “the things joined together”. To make peace, therefore, means “to join together that which is separated”. The peace of God is therefore the strength that comes with that connection with our God that enables Him to energize and bless our lives by abiding in Him through prayer – Isaiah 26:3 Thou wilt keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on thee: because he trusteth in thee. Amen.

Yours lovingly,

Pastor Lek Aik Wee