Be anxious for nothing. But in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Phillippeans 4:6-7
Psychologists may tell you that you should not worry. They reason that worrying does no good. What if the bad outcome you imagine does not happen? All is well.
But in your mind, all is not well. The bad thing may happen. Then WHAT?
Paul in Phillipeans speaks to this scenario and he tells us exactly what to do.
Paul admonishes us NOT TO WORRY. Then he tells us how to accomplish this miraculous feat.
There are 4 steps
1) Pray
2) Supplicate
3) Give Thanks
4) Make Your Requests Known
1. PRAY
Prayer is not merely listing your petitions. Prayer is praise and worship. We are told to come before the great and powerful GOD and forget our problems for a moment while we praise HIM. Isn't GOD Awesome? Sit and recall just how AWESOME God is. God, the maker of heaven and earth. God the omnipotent, omniscient one. God who fashioned us and loves us. God the I AM.
2) Supplicate
Now, that we have recognized HIM that keeps us from falling, we can bring our petitions. We can tell tell God what ails us.
3) Give Thanks
You must approach with a heart of thanksgiving. In other words, you can not approach GOD with any doubt as to HIS goodness. What can you thank GOD for? Perhaps you are facing such a calamity that you cannot identify anything to be thankful for in the present. Well, thank God for past blessings. Thank God for Jesus Christ whose death enables us to approach God directly with no intermediary. Thank God for eternal life, for health and strength, for safety, for health, for a good hair day!
4) Make Your Requests Known
Tell God all about it. Tell him what ails and confuses you. Tell Him how you feel. Pour out your heart to God knowing all the while that He hears you and cares deeply about your situation.
NOW WHAT?!
This is the most interesting part of all. After we have followed these steps, notice that Paul does not tell us that our circumstances will change. We are not promised that God will give us everything we ask. Instead, we are promised that God will change us supernaturally so that we are no longer anxious. He will enable us to sleep. He will give us PEACE.
This is very hard to understand. But God promises Peace That Passes All Understanding!
God is concerned with us; our mind and our hearts first. If we follow the steps above, God promises that He will change our hearts and minds in such a way that we will no longer be ruled and effected by our circumstances.
It is not prayer that changes things, it is GOD that changes us.
Being able to remain at peace when the world rages around us: This is Happiness, darling!
