Preached Sunday, September 2, 2012 from Philippians 4:6-7
Theme: Prayer in Christ is the Bible’s prescribed cure for the ‘worry’ habit.
(Unless otherwise noted, all Scripture references are taken from The Holy Bible, New King James Version; copyright 1982, Thomas Nelson, Inc.)
We have been studying from a very practical portion of the already-very practical book of Philippians. Philippians is a book about how to experience the joy of Jesus Christ—which is a gracious endowment from the Holy Spirit. And this particular portion of Philippians teaches us how to apply that joy to everyday life.
I ask that we begin our time this morning by reading that whole portion of Philippians together. As I said last week, I believe this portion gives a genuine believer the content for good, sanctified ‘mental health’. And everyone here today would do themselves a great service if they committed it to memory.
Philippians 4:4-9 says;
Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice! Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand. Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue and if there is anything praiseworthy—meditate on these things. The things which you learned and received and heard and saw in me, these do, and the God of peace will be with you (Philippians 4:4-9).
Look again at the first two verses of that passage. They show us how to put the joy of Christ into practice ‘externally’. They teach us to rejoice in the Lord always—no matter what the circumstances; and to let our gentleness be known to all people—no matter who we may meet. It’s in this way that we’re to demonstrate the presence of Jesus Christ in our every-day life in this world.
But the rest of this passage tells us how to put the joy of Christ into practice ‘internally’—that is, in terms of the state of our inner being. And today, I am asking that we just concentrate on what verses 6-7 teach us. Those two verses show us how to experience genuine inner-peace in our daily walk with Christ.
In them, Paul writes;
Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus (vv. 6-7).
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Now; these are wonderful words. But they can be misapplied if we’re not clear what it is that this passage is talking about. And so, let’s begin by defining what is meant by “anxious”.
The word that Paul uses—and I hope you’ll forgive me if I engage in a little “Greek word study”—is merimnaō. It’s a word that shows up in Scripture in a variety of ways—sometimes as a good thing, sometimes as a neutral thing, and sometimes as a thing to be avoided. The only way to know the difference is by the context in which the word is used.
For example, this word is used to describe a good thing not long before the very passage we’re studying today—in Philippians 2:20. There, the apostle Paul wrote that he wanted to send his faithful co-worker Timothy to minister to the Philippians; saying, “For I have no one like-minded, who will sincerely care for your state.” Do you see the word “care”? In the original language, that’s the same word as we’re considering this morning. And it clearly refers to a good thing. It speaks of the genuine concern and care that Paul and Timothy had for their brothers and sisters in Christ—a deep concern that it was appropriate and good for them to have. You and I have this kind of good “care” all the time. We “care” for our family members and friends and fellow brothers and sisters in Christ. We are appropriately “concerned” for their protection and health and spiritual well-being—and it’s a good and godly thing for us to be so. In that case, I think the word “care” is the best word to use to translate it.
This same word is also used in a neutral way—neither necessarily ‘good’ or ‘bad’—in 1 Corinthians 7:32-33. Paul wrote to urge his brothers and sisters in Christ who had found themselves ‘single’ not to be too hasty in getting married again. It was because—for the particularly difficult days they were living in, and for the particular cultural challenges they were facing at that time—he didn’t want them to be unnecessarily burdened by distractions. He told them; “But I want you to be without care.” And there, he’s using the same word that’s found in our passage this morning. He goes on to use the same word in the form of a verb when he says, “He who is unmarried cares for the things of the Lord—how he may please the Lord. But he who is married cares about the things of the world—how he may please his wife.” So the word that Paul is using—sometimes translated “care”—can be a helpful thing or a distracting thing, depending on the circumstances. In that case, I think the best way to understand that idea is as a “concern”. We can have a “concern” about things that might be either appropriate or distracting.
Now; in our passage this morning, this same word is being used to describe a decidedly bad thing—a thing to be avoided. It’s being used to describe a “care” or “concern” that is out of place and inordinate; a “care” that takes a burden on one’s self that ought only to be borne by God. In that case, I think the best way to describe that idea is with the word “worry”.
Did you know that the Lord Jesus used this very same word in this very same way in one of the most beloved passages in the Sermon on The Mount? This word is translated “worry” when we read that Jesus said;
“Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink; nor about your body, what you will put on. Is not life more than food and the body more than clothing? Look at the birds of the air, for they neither sow nor reap nor gather into barns; yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not of more value than they? Which of you by worrying can add one cubit to his stature?
“So why do you worry about clothing? Consider the lilies of the field, how they grow: they neither toil nor spin; and yet I say to you that even Solomon in all his glory was not arrayed like one of these. Now if God so clothes the grass of the field, which today is, and tomorrow is thrown into the oven, will He not much more clothe you, O you of little faith?
“Therefore do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things. But seek first the kingdom of God and His righteousness, and all these things shall be added to you. Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things. Sufficient for the day is its own trouble (Matthew 6:25-34).
Most of the modern Bible translations of our passage have translated this word “anxious”. And that’s certainly not an inaccurate word to use. But I personally don’t think it’s the best way to understand it. You see; some people suffer a kind of ‘anxiety’ that is mainly physiological in nature—one that is often outside the control of their willful control—a kind of ‘anxiety’ that involves biochemical imbalances that are best diagnosed and treated by a doctor. And I’m concerned that we not apply this morning’s passage to such folks in an insensitive and harmful way. I don’t believe that such physiologically-caused “anxiety” is something that Paul is talking about in our passage—although I believe that what he says in this passage does much to help.
‘Worry’ however—which is a far more common phenomenon—is a habit of thinking for which we are entirely responsible. And I suggest that “worry” is a more accurate word to use to describe what Paul is talking about. To ‘worry’ is to engage in a behavioral practice that is under our control—a habit of being inordinately ‘concerned” about things that are outside of our influence, to fret about them as if God did not exist, to become fearful and apprehensive in our imaginations about things that might or might not happen, and to bear a burden of ‘care’ or ‘concern’ upon ourselves that was meant to be borne only by God. It’s a habit of thinking that doesn’t keep our heavenly Father in His proper place in our thinking; and that fails to trust in God’s sovereign care for us as we should.
I believe that’s exactly what Paul is talking about. I don’t mind if we call it “anxiousness”; so long as what we understand that what we’re talking about is “worrying”. Worrying is something that we’re all guilty of doing to some degree. It’s something that robs us of the peace and joy that God wants us to experience in Christ. The habit of worrying is something that God wants us to put out of our lives.
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So; having clarified what it is that we’re talking about in this morning’s passage, what does it tell us about ‘worry’? First, we see . . .
1. THE THING TO STOP DOING.
Paul writes, “Be anxious for nothing . . .” Don’t worry about anything. Think back to what Jesus said: “. . . do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For after all these things the Gentiles seek. For your heavenly Father knows that you need all these things.” Jesus—as the one who possesses all authority—gave us, as His followers, unqualified permission to completely stop worrying about the basic things of life that everyone else in this world worries and frets about. He promises that our Father will take care of those things for us. What a wonderful gift our Lord and Savior has given us!
In fact, it gets even more wonderful when you look a little closer at the apostle Paul’s words. In the way that he puts it in our passage this morning, he gives emphasis to the things that we might try to worry about; and literally says, “In not one thing be anxious.” Not only are we to cease worrying about the basic things of life—food, shelter, clothing; but we are not to worry about anything at all—period!
How can it be that we are not to worry about anything? It’s because of the continually abiding presence of the Lord Jesus Christ; and because we can enjoy a ‘constant conscious communion’ with Him. Do you remember that Paul wrote these words in a prison-cell?—uncertain whether or not he would be executed the next day? And yet, he could write—without even a trace of worry about it;
For I know that this will turn out for my deliverance through your prayer and the supply of the Spirit of Jesus Christ, according to my earnest expectation and hope that in nothing I shall be ashamed, but with all boldness, as always, so now also Christ will be magnified in my body, whether by life or by death. For to me, to live is Christ, and to die is gain (Philippians 1:19-21).
How inappropriate it is to ‘worry’ when you’re in ‘constant conscious communion with Christ’! And so, because of the constantly abiding presence of the Son of God, and because we are to walk in constant fellowship with Him, we are to be—and indeed, are set free to be—anxious or ‘worried’ about nothing whatsoever!
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Now; when Paul wrote those words, he put them in a grammatical form that suggests that “worry” was a regular habit for his readers—something that they were in the habit of doing even then, and that they needed to cease doing. And that’s so often true for us, isn’t it? We are, because of our fallenness in Adam, inclined to be ‘worriers’. We easily fall into worrying about everything. It’s hard to stop doing what you are so accustomed to do as a way of life.
But if you’ve studied the New Testament carefully, you will have noticed that the apostle Paul—writing under the leading of the Holy Spirit—hardly ever tells us to stop doing something without also telling us what to do instead. He tells us how to replace an old habit of behavior with a new one. And when it comes to worry, as we read on, we see . . .
2. THE THING TO DO INSTEAD.
He writes, “Be anxious for nothing”—which is the thing to stop doing. But he then goes on to say, “but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” And that’s what we are to do instead of worrying. We are to pray, and let our requests be made known to God.
There are two things we should notice about this. First, we should notice who it is that we’re to let our requests be known to. We’re to tell them to God. It’s not that we’re not to tell other people about our concerns. It’s often helpful to share our burdens with others. But The place that we’re to go to—first and foremost—with our concerns is to the throne of our heavenly Father. Jesus told us, “Do not fear, little flock, for it is your Father’s good pleasure to give you the kingdom” (Luke 12:32). We can go right to Him for our concerns—to Him who is able to give us everything that we need.
Second, we should notice that Paul said to ‘let’ our requests ‘be made known’ to Him. And have you ever wondered why it is that we need to “let them” be “made known” to Him? Doesn’t He already know everything? There’s certainly nothing hidden from Him? Why would we need to ‘let’ our concerns ‘be made known’ to one who already knows all things? It’s because it keeps us dependent upon Him. And that’s what He really wants from us—a continual relationship of dependency in which we look to our sovereign God for everything we need. That’s why the apostle Peter wrote; “Therefore humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God, that He may exalt you in due time, casting all your care upon Him”—using the same word we have been studying—”for He cares for you” (1 Peter 5:6-7).
I read a story the other day about a missionary who had been picked-up by a German freighter during World War II. The ship he had been on had been torpedoed, and this German freighter had drawn him out of the water, and he was put into its hold. He was so terrified at his situation that he couldn’t even close his eyes at night to sleep. But he said that he turned his worries to the Lord; and the Lord brought to his mind what it says in Psalm 121:2-4; “My help comes from the Lord, who made heaven and earth. He will not allow your foot to be moved; He who keeps you will not slumber. Behold, He who keeps Israel shall neither slumber nor sleep.” And so, this missionary prayed and said, “Lord there really isn’t any use for both of us to stay awake tonight. If You are going to keep watch, I’ll thank Thee for some sleep!”1 And then—having let his request be known to God—he fell asleep.
That’s the Bible’s prescribed replacement for the habit of worry, dear brothers and sisters. Instead of worrying, we are to let our requests be made known to our good heavenly Father.
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Now; how exactly are we to go about doing that? Well; just as the apostle Paul doesn’t tell us to stop doing something without telling us what to do instead, he also doesn’t tell us what to do without telling us how to do it. And I believe that it’s very important that we pay careful attention to how he says that we are to turn our concerns over to our heavenly Father. We can’t really expect to enjoy the gracious gift of peace from God if we aren’t willing to do exactly what His word says to do in order to obtain it.
So; notice carefully how Paul tells us . . .
3. THE WAY THIS IS TO BE DONE.
He says that we are, “in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving”, to let our requests be made known to God. And in this, I see four important elements.
First, we are to let our requests be made known to God “in everything”. That means that, in every situation, in every circumstance, with respect to anything that we might be inclined to ‘worry’ about, we are to make our requests known to God. There is to be nothing that we are to think of as either too small, or too big, to talk to Him about. There must not be any areas of our life in which we think to ourselves, “I don’t need to turn to God for this. It’s no big deal. I can handle it.” Nor is there to be any areas in which we think to ourselves, “This is a big deal; but I’m not so desperate that I need to cry out to God for it. I mean, things haven’t gotten that bad yet.” Because if we leave even one little patch of “I can handle it” in our lives today, that will most certainly become a seedbed for worry tomorrow. The only way to get out of the habit of worrying about things is by getting into the habit of turning everything over to our heavenly Father instead.
Second, Paul says we are to come to God “by prayer”. And what Paul means here is not so much the ‘act’ of praying as the ‘manner’2 in which we approach God in our prayers. The manner in which we come to God to make our requests known is very important. So often, we come in a panicky state of mind; all harried and fretful, and not taking the time to think carefully about the God to whom we come. We forget that He is our sovereign heavenly Father, who knows all things, who is deeply in love for us, and who is wonderfully able to meet our every need long before we even ask. We should always begin making our requests known to Him by first worshiping Him for who He is—truly coming to Him in an attitude of “prayer”. To stop and think of who God is—and to worship Him accordingly—is a great way to defeat worrisome thoughts at their very beginning!
Third, Paul says that we are to come to God not only by prayer but also by “supplication”. What Paul means here is that we are to come to God in such a way as to place before Him specifically what it is that we desire. I suggest that this is one of the things we most often fail to do in our prayers. We tend to come to God with vague generalities; when what He wants from us are clear specifics. He wants us to use the minds that He gave us, think carefully about who He is, consider what it is that He wants in the situations we face, adjust our concerns so that they match His own, and then ask specifically for what we see that He Himself wants to do. You wouldn’t think of setting-up a meeting with the president or an audience with a great king without thinking first of what specifically you want to talk to them about. Generalities in our prayers comes from timidness in our asking; and timidness in our asking leads to vagueness in our expectations; and vagueness in our expectations leads to worry over the outcome. We do much to rid ourselves of worry when we get specific in our requests to God. He’s our loving Father! We don’t ever have to be shy about telling exactly what it is that we want!
And finally, Paul mentions the all-important matter of giving God thanks. He says, “in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.” To offer Him our thanks at the end of our requests means that we believe that He has welcomed us into His presence as His own dear children, that He has heard our specific requests, and that He will do what needs to be done about them in order to bring about our good and His glory. As someone has said, offering thanks ‘gives wings to our prayers’; because thanksgiving honors Him for who He is. An attitude of thanksgiving drives worry out of the picture; because you really can’t “thank” God for the answer He gives and “worry” about the outcome at the same time.
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Now; I don’t believe we have a right to expect God to give us peace in our troubles of life if we don’t do exactly what His word says to do in order to experience it. Here, we’re told exactly what to do—to “in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God”. And we’re not to simply do it once; but—just as the grammar of the original language has it—we’re to make it our regular habit pattern of life. That’s what it means to truly walk in constant conscious communion with Christ.
But finally, look at verse seven and at . . .
4. THE RESULT THAT’S PROMISED IF WE DO IT.
Paul writes; “and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
The peace that we will experience is not simply the kind of temporal “peace” that people make up for themselves. It is not the peace of mere “positive thinking”. This is God’s promise that He will give us a peace that only He can give. It’s the peace that is the gracious “fruit” of the Holy Spirit—”. . . love, joy, peace . . .” (Galatians 5:22). It’s the Spirit’s endowment to us of nothing less than the very peace—lived-out in our daily experience—of Jesus Himself; who said, “Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid” (John 14:27).
And because it is the peace of Jesus Himself, it is a peace that the people of this world cannot understand. It’s a peace “which surpasses all understanding”. It’s a peace that the people of this world will look upon and be unable to figure out; because it’s truly an ‘out-of-this-world’ kind of peace. It’s the peace that is promised in Isaiah 26:3, “You will keep him in perfect peace, whose mind is stayed on You, because he trusts in You.” It’s the kind of peace that unbelieving people will see; and that will move them to ask us for a reason for the hope that is in us (1 Peter 3:15).
And it’s a peace that truly conquers worry. It’s a peace that “guards” our hearts and our minds. Our “hearts” here speaks of our inner man, and our “mind” speaks of the processes of our thinking. And so often, we worry because our inner man is in turmoil and because we fall into a downward spiral in our thinking. But the peace of God, as it were, stands as a “sentry” to our hearts and thoughts that stops anything from getting in that removes us from our trust in God. God not only gives us the peace of Christ, but graciously keeps us in that peace.
This, dear brothers and sisters in Christ, is God’s promise to us—a peace that the world cannot understand; a peace that guards our hearts and minds from the downward spiral of ‘worry’—if we will do as He says, and bring our every concern to Him as He tells us to.
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Now; before we end our time together, I need to point out one final and very important thing. And I say this to those who are not yet my brothers and sisters in Christ.
Do you notice those closing words of Paul’s? They are the words that set this whole matter in its proper context—”through Christ Jesus.” The peace of God that is promised in this morning’s passage cannot be ours in any other way than through Christ Jesus; because it is the experience of Jesus’ own peace in our lives that can only come through a personal relationship with Jesus by faith.
Everything that we have looked at in this morning’s passage is for someone who has placed their faith in Jesus as their Savior and Lord. Apart from a faith in what Jesus has done for us, we are in a state of guilt before God because of our sins. God sent His Son to die on the cross for us to pay for those sins. Once we’ve trusted Jesus, we have peace with God and there is no longer any condemnation. And once we have peace with God through Jesus, we can experience God’s gracious gift of the very peace of Jesus.
I hope that, if you have never personally and deliberately placed your trust in what Jesus did on the cross—and have experienced a life of worry apart from Him—you’ll place your trust in Him today. I hope you’ll do so before you leave this room. Then, you can fully enjoy the promise that the apostle Paul speaks of in this morning’s passage: “Be anxious for nothing, 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 minds through Christ Jesus.”
From Paul S. Rees, The Adequate Man: Paul in Philippians (Westood, NJ: Revell, 1959); cited in John MacArthur, Anxiety Attacked (Colorado Springs: Cook Communications, 1993), pp. 34-35.
Thayer (p. 545) has προσεύχομαι “with a dative indicating the manner or instrument”.