Wednesday, October 7, 2015

worry about nothing, pray about everything

artwork by Tamara Peterson

Tamara Peterson’s beautiful work of art inspired me as I listened to Brian Johnson's Have It All... My heart was drawn to a word study of the word, prayer, from Philippians 4:6

Amplified: Do not fret or have any anxiety about anything, but in every circumstance and in everything, by prayer and petition (definite requests), with thanksgiving, continue to make your wants known to God.


Lightfoot: Entertain no anxious cares, but throw them all upon God. By your prayer and your supplication make your every want known to him.

NLT:
Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

Phillips:
Don't worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer.

Weymouth:
Do not be over-anxious about anything, but by prayer and earnest pleading, together with thanksgiving, let your request be unreservedly made known in the presence of God.

Wuest:
Stop perpetually worrying about even one thing, but in everything by prayer whose essence is that of worship and devotion and by supplication which is a cry for your personal needs, with thanksgiving let your requests for the things asked for be made known in the presence of God.

Young's Literal:
For nothing be anxious, but in everything by prayer, and by supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God.

Prayer in Greek is the word, proseuche from pros which means toward or immediately before and  euchomai which means to pray or vow. Proseuche is the more general word for prayer and is used only of prayer to God. The prefix pros would convey the sense of being immediately before Him and hence the ideas of adoration, devotion, and worship.  The basic idea is to bring something, and in prayer this pertains to bringing up prayer requests. In early Greek culture an offering was brought with a prayer that it be accepted. Later the idea was changed slightly, so that the thing brought to God was a prayer. In later Greek, prayers appealed to God for His presence.

The Apostle Paul is saying believers are to present worries in prayer, going to God with a sense of conscious dependence upon Him, like the psalmist in Psalm 84...Blessed are those whose strength is in You, whose hearts are set on pilgrimage…They go from strength to strength…Hear my prayer, LORD God Almighty.

Greek scholar Kenneth S. Wuest explains, “By prayer whose essence is that of worship and devotion,” the idea is setting one's focus on God and exhibiting a worshipful attitude. The first priority when we find ourselves worrying, should be to get alone with God and express our love, and adoration to Him, focusing on His glorious and majestic attributes such as His unchangeable character, His sovereign control, and His omnipotence. Then God is seen as Jehovah, the great "I Am"..."I Am anything and everything you will ever need!" Too often we rush into His presence, blurting out our supplications and requests, instead of approaching His throne of grace with the sense of wonder and reverential fear pictured by the use of the noun proseuche. So the first thing Paul instructs the saints at Philippi to do is focus on God. We are to worry about nothing because we can pray about everything.”

Pastor Charles H. Spurgeon
succinctly summed up Paul's words saying that we should have...”No care but all prayer. No anxiety but much joyful communion with God.” Spurgeon goes on to exhort us...”Carry your desires to the Lord of your life, the guardian of your soul. Go to Him with two portions of prayer and one of fragrant praise. Do not pray doubtfully but thankfully. Consider that you have your petitions, and, therefore, thank God for His grace.”

Pastor Ray Stedman
writes, "In everything by prayer and thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God." I love that word "everything." That means there is nothing too small to bring to him. Someone asked, "Is it all right to bring small things before the Lord? Is he concerned about the small things in our lives?" The answer is: is there anything that looks big to God? Everything is small to him, so take everything to him in prayer. Prayer is the expression of our dependence upon His promises. It isn't necessarily on your knees, or in the closet, but it can be just that quiet, arrow prayer of the heart, in continual recognition that you need to lean back upon His grace and strength. In everything constantly relating to that indwelling life of God the Son in you. Whenever problems develop, lean back again in prayer to the one who is able and competent within you through His indwelling life. Thanksgiving is that forward look of faith that thanks God for the answer before you see it. Knowing His character, you know something will be done. There are things for which we can immediately ask, and know that we will receive. His grace, his strength, insight, wisdom, patience, love and compassion. And as we lean back upon him in that inner dependence of faith which is prayer, we can also begin to give thanks that the answer has come, and in our thanksgiving we discover the experience of it as well."

Pastor Stedman continues: "As in everything we let our requests be made known to God, the result is peace. The peace of God that passes all understanding will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Just the other day a new Christian, a business man, was telling me of the peace that he is enjoying in resting upon the competency of Christ within to handle his problems. He said that the one thing an American business man fears more than anything else is a call from the Internal Revenue Department. He said the other day the phone rang, the secretary picked it up and said, "It's the Internal Revenue Department. What will I tell them?" He said his immediate reaction was what he once would have said: "Tell them anything-tell them I'm not here, I'm out of town." Then he remembered Christ within, and that he was there to meet the problems of life through him. He said his second reaction was well, what an interesting time this will be to see how he solves this problem. I don't know what they will ask me about, but it will be interesting to find out. So he took the phone, and when he did he found it was a friend playing a joke on him. He said if he hadn't taken the phone he would have been all week dodging up alleys and hiding behind cars, afraid someone would put a subpoena on him. Ah, but you see that rest upon the One who is adequate brings peace. Sometimes it is a peace that grips you in the midst of the most distressing circumstances, and you ask, “How can you explain it?” The answer is, you can't. It's a peace that passes understanding. I don't understand it. I've experienced it many times. There is something about it that undergirds, sustains, and strengthens, and the heart is quiet and peaceful even in the midst of the pressures, demands, and harassments of life. It comes from committing our way unto Him."

HOLY SPIRIT, here is my worry. Here is my need. I give them to you, and ask you to calm my anxious heart and quiet my racing thoughts. Center them on Jesus Christ and on His power and sufficiency today. Set my heart ablaze for the pilgrimage You have for me. Because of Jesus Christ’s finished work on the Cross, taking all my sin, all my pain, all my worry, it is by His stripes that I am healed—physically, emotionally, and relationally. I belong to You, I know that Your peace will guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus, in Whose powerful name I pray, amen.

Look Up—meditate on Philippians 4:6 … pray to see what it reveals about the character of God.


Look In—as you meditate on Philippians 4:6 … pray to see how you might apply it to your life. Be propelled to ask galvanizing questions about your discoveries: "Because God is_________, I will_____________."


Look Out—as you meditate on Philippians 4:6… pray to see how you might apply it to your relationships with others. Let the nature of God impact on every relationship, for your good, and for His glory.


Recent Posts…

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Philippians 3:10…that I may know Him

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Romans 12:18-21…overcome by a Good, Good Father

Weekly LinkUps…

41 comments:

  1. Thank you Beth for sharing and reminding us of the true meaning of this beautiful verse Philippians 4:6. I found your site via Grace & Truth. May God continue to bless you as you share the good news of the gospel. Have a wonderful weekend!

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  2. Hi Beth ! Thanks for sharing at Grace & Truth today. I just inked a post about Bible Journaling and so your picture drew me in. But I not only got to see beautiful artwork, but read beautiful words. Blessings :)

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    1. Thank so much for stopping by, Debbie. I appreciate your encouraging words...many blessings to you ❤️

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Victor...many blessings to you ❤️

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  4. Thank you for the in depth look at Phil 4:6! We always need that reminder to not worry, but give it instead to the only One who can do anything about our situation! Blessings and smiles,
    Lori

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    1. Lori, thank you for your kind comments...I so agree with you...many blessings to you ❤️

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  5. Thank you for this informative post on prayer! I found you through InLinkz linkup from Faith n' Friends.

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    1. Thanks for stopping by, Beckie! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  6. Hi Beth, to say sometimes i don't worry would be untrue. But I am reminded that the Lord cares deeply for me and in His appointed time He will perfect His good work.
    You are Blessed, Friend.

    PS How is your other project going? Hope well?

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    1. Thank you, Ifeoma...I so agree with you. I'm still working on the book project, thanks for asking! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  7. Oh, I really like the words from Pastor C.H. Spurgeon! May have to copy and stick inside my Bible. Thank you for sharing this!

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    1. Carrie, thank you so much! I so agree with you about Pastor Spurgeon...especially this quote, "Do not pray doubtfully but thankfully. Consider that you have your petitions, and, therefore, thank God for His grace.” Many blessings to you ❤️

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  8. I'm visiting from Spiritual Sundays. Love, love this verse and almost posted it myself. It's not an easy task to "fret not," but it is a command. How much simpler and more peaceful life is when we truly trust God with all of our petitions.

    It seems we're both members of AWSA. I'm not an active member now, but was one of the charter members in its beginnings. Great group.

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    1. Dayle, thank you so much for stopping by...I so agree with you...about the Truth of this scripture and the sweet sisters in Christ at AWSA...many blessings to you ❤️

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  9. This multi-perspectival approach to the truth is so helpful! Thank you for doing the digging for us!

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Michele! It is a blessing to dig into God's Word and share what has been so encouraging to me...many blessings to you!

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  10. Just posted after you on the REFLECT link up and I thought I'd click over. I love how you used so many translations to compare. Sometimes one translation will mean nothing to you, and another will pierce your heart. Thanks for sharing.

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    1. Thank you, Stephanie, I so agree with you, so true how a certain translation can "pierce our hearts"...His powerful two-edged sword of the Spirit...amen! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  11. A lovely devotional. I love to do that too. I was researching a couple of verses from Revelation 9 today using different translations. Always leads to more good food for thought.
    Blessings
    Kaye

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    1. Kaye, thank you for stopping by...I love all the new "ah-ha" moments of digging deep in various translations! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  12. Beth, I love the many versions and the words to say the same thing yet give me new ways to ponder this verse. Mr. Wuest says: "The first priority when we find ourselves worrying, should be to get alone with God and express our love, and adoration to Him, focusing on His glorious and majestic attributes such as His unchangeable character, His sovereign control, and His omnipotence." I just published a post about God's sovereignty. Taking my concerns to Him and stop worrying and fretting are what He wants me to do for He is more than able.
    Thankful to have come by, Beth. ~ linda

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    1. Linda, I so appreciate your thoughtful comments and your wonderful insights at your blog...being woven...love that name, it describes the weaving of the tapestry of our lives...how we can trust the all-knowing Hands of our Weaver! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  13. Beth, Thank you so much for bringing all these edifying insights into prayer.

    There were several things that stood out to me like how I never thought about the fact that indeed, everything is small to God! All the different quotes you shared really helped to expand upon prayer in a Believer's life.

    The Bible verse that served as a great Word picture was the Lightfoot version where we are instructed to "throw our anxious cares upon the Lord".

    It is always a blessing to visit here. :-)

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    1. Karen, I always look forward to your specific, encouraging comments. Thank you for taking time to be so caring! I love your blog too, and have been praying for the next steps God has for you and your husband. Many blessings to you ❤️

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    2. Beth, Thank you so much for your kind words and for your prayers. They mean so much.

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  14. Love this scripture as well. Sweet reminder!!!! OAN: I am an adoptee as well!!! God bless you sweet sister!!!

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    1. Fellow adoptee, Larissa, thank you for stopping by and sharing that with me! My dear friend and mentor, Sherrie Eldridge, says spending time with a fellow adoptee is so special! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  15. I always love being able to read all the various translations on your posts! Thank you!
    Blessings and smiles,
    Lori

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    1. Lori, thank you so much for stopping by...I so agree with you! Many blessings to you ❤️

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  16. What sweet encouragement this morning. Just what I needed dear friend. May I hold on to this truth all day. Thank you.

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    1. Kelly, I am so encouraged by your Purposeful Life blog and beautiful prayer times in the mornings on Periscope...many blessings to you ❤️

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  17. I love this verse but always remind myself that verse 6 is possible because of the last four words of verse 5: The Lord is near. Loved reading all the commentary about it. Spurgeon's "guardian of my soul" is new to me. Thanks for the sweet reminder! We are neighbors on Coffee for Your Heart

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    1. Thank you for stopping by, Christi. Many blessings to you ❤️

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  18. Thanks for this, Beth! I'm your neighbor at #Coffeeforyourheart this morning. I hope you have a wonderful day!

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  19. "Here is my worry..." Yes! It's the first step in overcoming anxiety: offering ourselves and the situation. Enjoyed the visit today from #livefreeThursday.

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    1. Kristi, thank you so much for stopping by...I so agree with you, when we shift our focus from ourselves to Jesus, the worries of earth fade away...many blessings to you ❤️

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  20. I truly need to read Philippians 4:6 everyday. I am a worrier by nature and need to let go and let God as my prayer each day. I was interested in the Lightfoot version you referenced today. I am not familiar with it but liked the words "entertain no anxious cares". Thank you for your timely words!

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    1. Mary, I so agree with you! It was great getting to meet you at Allume last week...what a wonderful conference! Many blessings to you ❤️

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