Anxiety, Prayer, Peace

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6,7 NIV

This verse came up in my personal devotions recently. It’s a well known couple of verses which are preached on and quoted often. But for the first time in many years I noticed there is something missing, and once you notice the omission, you can’t help but wonder how it had passed you by before now because it’s so obvious.

The core message is prayer, and its importance in our Christian life and faith when we are worried, concerned, or anxious. It is good to come before His throne and just thank Him for all the goodness He showers us with every day. But sometimes, the cares and worries of this life overtake us and we are overwhelmed by our feelings. Our head knows full well that God is faithful, but our heart still needs assurance. So we pray and lay our human feelings before Him openly and honestly.

Then what? That’s where the advice stops, and that’s when it hit me. There is no mention of an answer from God. No promise that everything will work out the way we want. No time frame given for how long this cloud hanging over you will last.

The lesson I take from this, and my apologies if I am coming late to this truth, is that our peace of mind is directly linked to our sincere prayer, and NOT to the answer which God will give in His own time. Let’s face it, oftentimes we already know what we want God to do to fix our worry, and knowing this, and in His infinite wisdom, He makes the important action our prayer and not the answer. Oh yes, we serve a wise God.