PRAYER GUIDE
Mid-October - Mid-November 2018
MEMORIZATION
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything...
PRAYER AND REFLECTION
Philippians 5b-6a
October 20th & 21st Philippians 4:4 - Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! "Curb the Chaos," said the headline on the magazine at the check-out counter. "Overwhelmed? Seven Ways to Regain Control," read the subject line on an email advertisement. "Total Home Control Within Reach" was the headline of a recent article touting the virtues of smart homes. It's no wonder. Psychologists have proven that anxiety increases as control diminishes. So, our options seem to be to wrestle for increasing levels of control over our environment, spouses, children, workload, schedules and more, in an attempt to achieve some degree of peace. Or, we can be victims of unfocused, unanchored lives that get thrashed about with every gust of wind or sudden change in current that life can throw at us. Anyone who has tried the first option will tell you controlling your environment is unachievable, there’s no room for the unexpected, and it ends in relationships, calendars and regimens wound so tight that they ultimately snap and leave permanent damage. On the other hand, anyone who's tried option two finds themselves stuck between wondering what their purpose in life is and wondering if purpose exists for anything at all. Christians, however, have access to a third option. Since we cannot control everything, we can put our trust in One who does. By relinquishing our futile attempts at manufacturing a peaceful existence to Someone who is entirely worthy, qualified and reliable, true peace is put within reach regardless of our circumstances. Paul's prescription in Philippians 4 begins with a call to rejoice. The verb tense he uses in this verse tells us to "habitually, continually rejoice ALWAYS." Then, he repeats the word a second time just so the reader really gets that he's serious. But, this is not a call to a feeling, but rather to a decision to be confident in God—His existence, His sovereignty and His goodness. As we'll learn over the course of this study, anxiety decreases as our understanding of the Father increases. So, praise Him today! Rejoice in Him! He is present! He is in control! He is trustworthy!
Personal Reflection: ________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ October 27th & 28th Philippians 4:5 - Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Last week, we discovered that Paul's prescription for anxiety begins with celebrating who God is. When we rejoice that God is in control, that He's merciful and using everything to accomplish His will, our rejoicing reminds others of the same. According to Scripture, our rejoicing manifests itself in gentleness. The word gentleness that Paul uses in this verse describes a temperament that is seasoned and mature, level-headed and steady, and not panicked or over-reacting. This gentleness is contagiously calm to family, friends and coworkers. That's how it becomes evident to all. But, how is it acquired? The answer comes in Paul's very next sentence, "The Lord is near." When we practice the nearness of God, we acknowledge that He is with us. Isaac was told this by God Himself during a time of turmoil: "Do not be afraid, for I am with you" (Genesis 26:24). Joshua received the same message, "Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged,
for the LORD your God will be with you wherever you go" (Joshua 1:9). King David also knew of this assurance, "The LORD is with me; I will not be afraid. What can mere mortals do to me?" (Psalm 118:6). How much more, then, can we—those living after the birth of Immanuel, which literally means "God with us"—embrace the nearness of God whose Spirit dwells right inside of us? Yes, we do have good reason to rejoice! His nearness has never been so accessible as it is to us. And, if we could read Paul's letter to the Philippians the way he wrote it—without the chapter and verse numbers inserted—we would read, "The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything." He's here. Have no worries.
Personal Reflection: ________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ November 3rd & 4th Philippians 4:6 - Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Being assured of God's character, His sovereignty, His mercy and His presence, we must act on this belief if we are to find calm in the midst of the anxieties of life. How? As Max Lucado says, "We choose prayer over despair. Peace happens when people pray." A paraphrase of what Paul said in this verse could be: In every anxious situation, humble yourself before God, make no demands, worship and thank Him in prayer, then make your specific requests. It's important, though, when we read a prescription, a biblical formula for approaching God in prayer, that we not fall into the trap of trying to manipulate God. Sincerity is the goal, and our prayers are not answered based on the eloquence of our words anyway. They're answered because of the faithfulness of our God. And, God invites us to make specific requests. Max Lucado reveals that specific prayers are serious prayers. When we pray for God to be active during a meeting with a boss, a difficult financial decision, or other specific situation, rather than just "bless me this day," we create an opportunity to see God at work. We are able to acknowledge that we've invited God into the situation, which in turn, lightens our load. Paul gave this prescription to more than just the Philippians when dealing with troubles. He wrote to the Ephesians as well, "And pray in the Spirit on all occasions with all kinds of prayers and requests." The Message says it like this: "...prayer is essential in this ongoing warfare. Pray hard and long." If we are going to avoid despair and experience peace in its place, we're going to have to pray hard and long. That's okay. Peter echoes Paul's advice and tells us why it works. "Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you" (1 Peter 5:7, emphasis added).
Personal Reflection: ________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ ___________________________________________________________________ November 10th & 11th Philippians 4:7 - And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. "The path to peace is paved with prayer," says Max Lucado. When we leave our concerns with God through specific, promise-based prayers, it allows us to be thankful that Someone more powerful than we are has been put in charge of the situation. It is this gratitude that transports our minds and emotions from the haunting "if only" scenarios toward calming "already" truths. In fact, Paul goes on in later verses of Philippians 4 to call this the "secret of being content in any and every situation" (v. 12). By the way, he wrote this letter while chained up in prison. In other words, grateful thoughts and prayers
kept him from saying if only I had a house instead of this cell. If only I had a mission field instead of these four walls. If only I had a wife instead of this guard. Paul knew to focus more on what he did have and less on what he didn't. And, what he already had was Christ, which was greater than anything he didn't have in life. The same is true for us. If we have Christ, and all that comes along with Him—angelic helpers, His Spirit within us, divine purposes to accomplish for Him—then life can strip us of all comforts like it did to Job and Paul and many others, while leaving us confident that God redeems and numbers our days. As Max Lucado puts it, "You can lose it all, only to discover that you haven't." As we do our part—letting our gentleness be known, praying long and hard, and reversing anxious thoughts with grateful ones—God does His part. He gives us His peace, which guards our hearts and minds. His peace. This isn't just a peace from God, this peace is of God. The peace He experiences in heaven gets divinely transferred to our hearts and minds. Our minds should be racing, but they're clear instead. Our hearts should be pounding, but they're steady and calm. It doesn't make human sense. It's a comfort we can't explain. It's "the peace of God, which transcends all understanding."
Personal Reflection: ________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ __________________________________________________________________ November 17th & 18th Philippians 4:8 - Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. At the end of Paul's prescription for dealing with anxiety, he tells his readers to change their thought life. If we cannot control circumstances, we certainly can control how we think about them. In a letter to another church he planted, Paul says it this way, "We demolish arguments and every pretension that sets itself up against the knowledge of God, and we take captive every thought to make it obedient to Christ" (2 Corinthians 10:5, emphasis added). So, when anxiety wants to convince us that God can't help or has turned His back, we need to ask: Is that true? Is that right? Is that thought consistent with what Christ has said and done? And, when we've been able to confidently answer, "I know whom I have believed, and am convinced that He is able to guard what I have entrusted to Him until that day" (2 Timothy 1:12), it's then that we've successfully shifted our focus away from the problem and onto Christ. He is true. He is noble and right. He is pure and lovely. He is most definitely excellent and praiseworthy. Therefore, it is our job to be completely at home with Christ. To truly be "anxious for nothing" and done with unrest, our most comfortable place must be in Christ's presence. We must be willing to bring our whole selves to Him, including our thought life, and be familiar enough to know our way around. He must be our place of escape, nourishment, recharging, and where we get ready to face the day. Jesus says it best, "If you make yourselves at home with Me and My words are at home in you, you can be sure that whatever you ask will be listened to and acted upon. I’ve loved you the way my Father has loved Me. Make yourselves at home in My love. If you keep My commands, you’ll remain intimately at home in My love" (John 15:7, 9-10 MSG).
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For more information on prayer, contact Kelly Yetter at
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