God’s Working People
The Work of Keeping Peace of Mind – Part II

Scripture Reading: Philippians 4:4-8

Key Verse: Philippians 4:6
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

Most of you have read today’s Key Verse before. However, if you are like me, you do not find it easy to incorporate this verse into your life, especially when troubles come your way.

Let’s look at the work that we must do, as this wonderful verse describes.

First, as soon as we realize that we are feeling anxious about anything, replace the fearful thoughts with a prayer.

For me, I start this prayer with: “Father, I am feeling anxious, so I am not going to allow these feelings to continue. I present these thoughts to you…”.

Just saying these words begins the process of uncovering the peace that the Father gives us. Remember from yesterday’s devotional what Jesus said: “I give you a gift of peace.” We must “unwrap” this gift when troubles cause us to be fearful. The moment we start praying about these troubles, we begin unwrapping Jesus’s gift of peace.

Our Key Verse says that we are to do more than pray about what makes us anxious; it tells us to pray “with thanksgiving” and to “present your requests to God”. This is a critical part of unwrapping our gift of peace. We praise God for hearing us and taking our fears away from us. Our praise surrounds our requests, so that our prayer becomes a statement of faith.

This might sound like this: “Father, I praise you that you hear my prayers and have promised that your peace guards my heart and mind. I receive that promise right now, in Jesus’s Name.”

A prayer absent of praise is often a prayer that is more of a wish rather than an effective prayer. Praise for God’s answer before it comes is a prayer of faith. Look what James writes:

But when you ask, you must believe and not doubt, because the one who doubts is like a wave of the sea, blown and tossed by the wind. That person should not expect to receive anything from the Lord. (James 1:6-7)

God promises us that we can enjoy His peace, through the power of Jesus Christ.

The moment you realize that you are feeling anxious about anything, reject those feelings and tell the evil one that you believe God takes care of you.

I am not saying that God takes away all our problems… He does not. I am saying that in all our problems, we can have peace of mind and heart, as we deal with them.

Father, help me to quickly realize that I am falling into fear and anxiety. Thank You that as I give these thoughts to You in prayer, peace can come back into my mind. In Jesus’s Name I pray, amen.