God’s Commanded Cure

As difficult as it may sometimes be, Christians are commanded to “Be anxious for nothing” (Phil. 4:6). Paul writes that instead of worrying, we are to, “in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let [our] requests be made known to God.” We are to pray about everything, to ask God for what we need and to thank God for not only hearing our prayers but for answering them.

The reason is in the previous verse, “The Lord is near” (4:4), while the result is in the following verse, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). We must not allow the troubles of this world to come between the closeness of our Lord and the peace that comes only from God.

Instead, Paul prescribes, “whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, dwell on these things” (4:8). If worry distracts us from the peace that comes from God, we should pray and reset our focus on godly things.

Matt Langfield