Why Worry When You Can Pray; Philippians

May the mumbling commence!

I remember in the home that I grew up in that my mother had a small metal placard hung on the wall.  The placard showed hands clasped together in prayer.  It also had the words (I think that I’m remembering this right) “Why worry when you can pray?”  The Apostle Paul presents this very question to the church at Philippi.  Read from Philippians chapter four (NLT):

Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God's peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus. (Verses 6-7)

Do NOT worry.  Pray!  Pray about everything – things that bring you joy and things that cause you grief, things that put you in a position of plenty and things that put you in a position of need.

When you put these things together in prayer, you will find that a peace that transcends you ability to fully know will settle upon your soul.  It is the very peace of God.  In Hebrew, this is called SHALOM.  That level of peace goes far beyond the absence of war.  It penetrates to all levels of relationship.  Shalom takes into consideration the well-being of all people – indeed, of all living things.

It is this shalom that will guard our hearts and minds as we strive to live for Jesus Christ.  It will protect us from being too self-centered.  It will protect us from greed.  It will protect us from violence at all  levels – physical, emotional, spiritual, verbal… I think you get the idea.

Basically – Why worry when you can pray?  Leave worry behind and trust in God.

Enough mumbling for now…

Peace Out