Pray About Everything

 

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. Phil. 4:4-7 (NKJV)

Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice!

Each of us has something over which we can rejoice.

* Did you sleep well?

* Is the sun shining?

* Did you have a good breakfast?

* Is your house warm?

* Are your children/grandchildren safe from harm?

Let your gentleness be known to all men.

Gentleness is one of the fruit of the Spirit. When we can react to a circumstance gently, we show others that we belong to the Lord. Jesus was gentle when He spoke to the woman caught in adultery. He also spoke gently when he spoke to Mary and her sister Martha when their brother Lazarus had died.

The Lord is at hand.

God is near to each of His children. When we face harsh circumstances, all we have to do is ask Him to guide us through the problem. We can do this non-verbally, just by asking Him with our thoughts or through our hearts.

Be anxious for nothing,

Anxiety sometimes causes circumstances to appear more serious than they actually are.

Anxiety can also lead to serious health issues. A counselor once told me that, as humans, we sometimes have a tendency to own circumstances that are not ours. As Christians we have to decide whether the issue at hand actually belongs to us.

but in everything by prayer and supplication,

Paul tells us that we must pray about everything.

* Pray about your friends and their family circumstances.

* Pray about the issues of our nation and the nations of our world.

* Pray about your finances.

* Pray about your relationships.

* Pray about your neighborhood.

with thanksgiving,

We must thank Him for all we have, for the people in our lives. We should thank Him for the merchants in our towns and cities and those who work for them.

let your requests be made known to God;

We must remember to make those requests to God first. Sometimes, we must ask others to pray for unspoken requests. On social media, I have seen requests for prayer that said, “God knows why.”

and the peace of God which surpasses all understanding,

The peace of God is what we desire in dire situations. It is that peace that carries us through those tough times,

*When we initially deal with the loss of a loved one.

*When we go through personal illness. When we go through times of uneasiness, personal or national.

Some people go through times each day where they need the peace of God to get them through.

will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Jesus guards the hearts and minds of each of us. He stands at the door of our hearts and reminds us of His love for us and that He can stave off the attacks of the enemy that might cause us to doubt ourselves or allow us to become unduly upset over something that would cause harm to us, His children.