2-7-2017

Good Morning All,

          Philippians 4: 6-7; “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

     Pray.  This is the directive from the Apostle Paul to the Christians in the city of Philippi.  Pray.  This is the directive that the Apostle Paul gives to us as well.  Pray, pray at all times and in all situations especially in times of distress or troubles.  It is kind of interesting that the word “pray” has the Latin base word “precarius”.   This is the same root as the word precarious.  So basically, pray recognizes the precariousness of our existence.  Pray; so that the events and struggles of life do not overwhelm and destroy us.

    The scripture verses selected for today are victims of the addition of chapter and verses which occurred during the Middle Ages.  Like one of my Professors from seminary used to say, “The Bible is the inerrant Word of God; unfortunately the chapter and verse placement is not.”  Too often we separate these two verses and use verse seven as a benediction.  While it is a good benediction; it works far better when we read it as it is intended.  Verse seven is the result of verse six.  The result is something that you and I can live with; the peace of God guarding our hearts and minds.

    Prayer is a gift that God gives us in order for us to communicate with God and God uses to bring us peace.  There are many ways prayer does this.  One way is through the offering of thanksgiving to God.  It is always interesting when unbelievers say with disdain that they won’t worship a god that needs to have his ego stroked.  The truth is that God does not need anything from us; we are the ones who benefit from prayer.  One way we benefit is that in listing our thanksgiving, remembering the blessings that God has bestowed on us in the past; we can remember that God is faithful and will keep his promises today and tomorrow.  Whatever we are experiencing right now will pass and we will always remain God’s redeemed child.

    A second way God uses prayer for us is to limit how the devil can deceive us.  God invites us to pray, to vocalize or at least organize what our fear is, what is making our life precarious.  By defining our fear, the devil can no longer exaggerate our fear.  Maybe you have experienced this event, usually on a sleepless night, when a fear about something simple explodes into a fear beyond logical possibility.  Prayer limits this.   Fears or worries that are defined are limited in size and scope.  We, knowing that God has promised to care for us, can have peace because we can rest in God’s holy arms trusting his holy promises.

Father, you hear us and send us hope.  You relieve our fears and comfort our sorrows.  In you we have the peace that only you can send.  Send your peace to all your children, especially those who are struggling mightily at this time.  Comfort them with your gracious love and hold them in your arms that they may know your peace.  In the precious name of Jesus we pray, amen.

God’s Peace,

Pastor Bret