The Result of Prayer
If you have been a Christian for any length of time, you probably know that prayer is important. Living with a prayer-warrior like my mom keeps the necessity and the power of prayer right in front of me all the time, and yet, I still need to be reminded to do what I know. I am thankful for one friend in particular who often quotes this verse to me:
“Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.” (Philippians 4:6)
You see, even though I know that prayer is important, and even though I have a specific time set aside in my schedule for prayer, I often forget that prayer is not just mentally working my way down a list of requests: it’s taking time to talk to God, to tell Him about… well… everything.
When I fall into the rut of reciting requests from my list and stop actually conversing with God in prayer, I start holding on to things that aren’t mine, worrying about things that haven’t happened yet, and stressing over things beyond my control.
The command to take everything to God in prayer is needful for every Christian, but have you ever noticed that Philippians 4:6 is not meant to stand alone? Here’s what comes next:
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (v.7)
Take a moment and read that again, slowly.
I usually read this verse and think how wonderful it is that God gives us peace in return for our burdens, but as I ran across it earlier this week, I noticed what God’s peace is to do.
“And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” (v.7)
I looked up that word keep in my Strong’s concordance, and do you know what it means?
“To be a watcher in advance, i.e. to mount a guard as a sentinel, to place spies at the gates, to hem in, to protect.”
God’s peace guards our hearts and minds like a sentinel or a watchman. It proactively watches to protect us from the sinful thoughts and affections that would harm us. Similarly, God’s peace is like a city wall, thick, strong, and high, to keep invaders out, but also to keep us safely within the circle of its protection.
When we make our requests known to the Lord with thanksgiving for what He will do in each situation, God’s peace throws a fortification up around our hearts and minds, guarding against worry, fear, self-reliance, or anything else the world, the flesh, and the devil might hurl against us.
The protection of God’s peace helps us keep our thoughts and affections focused on God, so that we can rest in Him and abide in His love each day, but His peace can only protect us if we make our requests known to God, committing the requests and ourselves to His keeping.
--How about you? Have you taken everything to the Lord today?