"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 our hearts and minds through Christ Jesus." Phil. 4:6-7
Most of us like verse 7 that talks about the peace which God gives to us that surpasses all of our understanding. A peace that is greater than anyone can explain with words, but feels so wonderful.
Verse 6 is a command which we must do before we can have His peace.
"Be anxious for nothing." Do not stress out and have an anxiety attack. Do not fear. Fear is not of God. In fact, fear is unbelief and a lack of trust in God's Word. "In everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." Did you notice He said to pray with thanksgiving?
How can you pray with thanksgiving when your heart is broken and you are so worried?
Read Jonah 2:1-10: The result of Jonah's praise and thanksgiving was his safety and deliverance from the belly of the whale.
Read Acts 16:16-40: While Paul and Silas were in prison praying and singing hymns, an earthquake happened and their chains were loosed and the prison doors were opened.
When you are down or discouraged, the best remedy is always to offer praise to God. When our praise goes up, God's power comes down.
We were created to praise God. Luke 19:40 says that if we keep silent in our praise to Him, the rocks will cry out in praise. The Holy Spirit distills His presence where there is praise. It's like moisture in the atmosphere. It is in His sweet presence that our faith comes alive and we can believe Him to answer our prayers.
I believe as we are praying for our loved ones to be saved, we need to thank God for every good and positive thing we can think of about that person. It may be really hard if all you can see is the sin in his or her life. Our Heavenly Father sees that person with love and the purpose He has for his or her life. We need to ask the Lord to allow us to see them as He sees them and to let us feel His heart for them as we pray with thanksgiving.
I believe that Jesus will give you His peace and faith to believe that He is answering your prayers.
Blessings to you and your family,
Carolyn
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Carolyn, thanks for creating the blog. In praying for my unsaved children and grandchildren, God has reminded me over and over again that He never stops working. He is in constant movement within and around our kids. So, now as I pray, I praise and thank Him for all the circumstances that He brings about, the circumstances that WILL be used to bring my children to the Cross. And He is working! My unsaved family consists of a daughter, an attorney-son-in-law, an 18 year old granddaughter headed for college this Fall, and a 13 year old grandson. Just this past Easter, while on their annual Spring-Break visit to Grandma and Poppa, my daughter decided to extend her stay in order for her and the kids to attend our church Easter Program. At that Friday evening celebration, my 13-year old grandson accepted the Lord as his personal Savior. God has laid the first brick in their Holy Spirit foundation. I keep a list in my prayer book of all my unsaved family and friends--Praise God, my grandson's name is now circled with a big heart! I look forward to seeing many more names circled, as God continues His work while I continue to pray.
ReplyDeleteI have an unsaved 23 year old grandchild who needs prayer. He had a very abusive, neglectful childhood and has some mental disabilities. He allowed satan to control his weak mind and got in some trouble with the law. He is scheduled to be sentenced soon and needs your prayers. He is a good boy, never been in trouble before and made a very, very poor decision to drink and drive. No accident ocurred and no one was hurt but he fled out of fear. Please join me in praying for my grandson that his sentence will be reduced and pray with me that he will be freed from the hold satan has over his life. I pray for him every day but don't know how to reach him. He needs your prayers, he is such a lost soul.
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