So much to worry about in so little time, right? Or so it seems. It must be most people's favorite pastime. Judging by the amount of time all of us spend doing it. Worry. Anxiety. Fretting. So much. Do you know what the old English word for worry originally meant? It meant to bite and strangle. To bite and strangle. It pictures a wild animal seizing the throat of its prey with its teeth and shaking it violently. If you've ever seen a dog grab its toy and then, that's the picture behind this word that we use so often, worry, worry. What a graphic picture to illustrate the effects of stressing about stuff. And I'm sure as we sit here this morning, you're stressing about something. You're stressing about something. As I stand here preaching this morning, I'm stressing about something. Like preaching. See, the idea behind the word worry is to feel yourself choking. You can't breathe. and that's precisely how it feels when we're gripped by worry. We can't breathe. It seizes us by the throat and it begins a slow process of cutting off our air, figuratively speaking. The final characteristic that Paul admonishes his readers at Philippi regarding is to work towards a solution to this dreaded enemy of the soul, worry. worry. It's yet another evidence of a person being a genuine Christian is how they respond to worry. How do you respond to worry? What's your initial response? What are your thoughts? What are your feelings? A right relationship with Jesus results in right behavior in conduct is the theme of these few verses that we've been looking at. And a week ago we looked at two characteristics. We noted that a Christian life should be a life characterized with praise. Was that verse in Philippians 4 verse 4, say it with me. Rejoice in the Lord always and again I say rejoice. Secondly, it should be characterized with poise. That next verse read, you may not know this one, but it says, let your gentleness be evident to all men. And that's poise. Now this morning, I kind of saved this third point just for our time together this morning, because I know all of us find the challenge of life to be what we worry about. What do we get anxious about? What causes angst? in our life. So this morning we look at the fact that a Christian life should also be characterized with prayer. With prayer. And I know everybody goes, oh yeah, yeah, I know all about prayer. Do you really? Do you really pray? Or do you kind of just go through the motions? Do you have some pet prayers that you pray? Have you ever stopped at dinnertime or lunchtime or breakfast if you pray and I hope you do before you enjoy that nice meal that God graciously provided. Have you ever stopped and thought about what you pray? Has it just become just mere words and it's something you do because it's what's expected? What do those words look like? What do they sound like? And more importantly, what do they sound like to your God? What do they sound like to my God? Now I lay me down to sleep. I pray the Lord my soul to keep. If I should die before I wake, I pray the Lord my soul to take. Have you ever thought about that prayer? It's kind of a scary prayer for little kids. You know, I remember one time we were visiting my dad and Andy was just a little guy. And I was out in the family room, and there's a pass-through to the kitchen, and I was listening to the conversation between my dad and my son. He was just a little guy, maybe, I'm not even sure, maybe five, maybe six. And they were having breakfast. And so I could hear my dad saying, and Andy, what do you want for breakfast? Oh, I'd like some cereal, Grandpa. OK, I've got this kind, and this kind, and this kind. Which one do you like? I'd like this kind. And I could hear the cereal pour into the bowl, and I could hear the milk pour into the cereal. And then I could tell my dad just started eating, and Andy said, oh, Grandpa, we should pray first. And he said, OK, OK, go ahead. And then Andy said, well, I'm not going to pray, you pray. So my dad prayed. And this is his prayer. God is good. God is great. Let us thank him for this food. And that was a prayer we had been taught from the time we were little kids to pray before every meal. Do you really mean that? It's not to say that you can't say those same words over and over and mean them, but the reality is generally we don't. So I know, though we talk about prayer this morning, I want you to know that I trust you'll gain some new insights into prayer this morning. Prayer specifically for how to handle your worries. Okay, for just a moment this morning, I want you to think. You probably don't have to think too hard about this. What are you worried about? As you sit here this morning, what are your concerns? What are you fretting about? What'd you lose sleep over last night? What's there? Even preventing you from listening to me right now, because you're so preoccupied with it. It's gripping you. It's got you by the throat. It's cutting off your air. I can't breathe. You got it in mind? And when I say it, I could probably say, have you got all of it in mind? Because it's usually more than one thing, right? Well, we're gonna talk about worry this morning. And the third characteristic of a Christian life is a Christian life should be characterized by prayer. And we see that recorded in verses six and seven. And those two verses were probably two of the first verses that I ever memorized. Philippians 4, six and seven. I suspect that many of you have probably memorized those two verses as well. So I want you to say them with me if you know them. If not, you can just listen. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known unto God, and the peace of God that passes all comprehension will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Aren't those great verses? Aren't those precious verses? Well, that's what we're going to look at this morning. I want you to keep in mind from our text this morning that Paul appears to be giving specific counsel to these two ladies. Remember those two ladies a few weeks ago? They had those funny names, Iodia and Suntuki. And he had rebuked them because they had a broken relationship. We're not told what the problem was, but it seems like Paul in these words, even the words we looked at a week ago, is giving him some counsel as to how to go about healing the broken relationship. I find it interesting if that is the case, he calls on them to do what about it? To pray. To pray. His admonition involved two actions. This is important to note. He says, stop one thing. And what were they to stop doing? From the text, what were they to stop doing? Worry. Thank you. Worry, right? But he then gives them another thing to do. He says, stop worrying and start praying. Start praying. Start praying. One action was to replace the other. And I suspect these women may very well have been worrying about their relationship. How do we fix it? Will we ever be reunited as friends again? How is this going to impact the church? What are people thinking? And on, and on, and on, and on, and on. I'm sure the concerns win. So maybe this is counsel he gives to them. Let me share a few insights from the context that I think will help us understand the passage a little better as we begin looking at these verses in particular. First of all, let me tell you this, prayer is for Christians. Prayer is for Christians. If you look at the first verse of the first chapter, Paul addresses these believers as saints. And that's the word Paul uses to describe Christians. Did you know everybody who is a genuine born-again Christian is a saint? You don't have to be canonized by the Pope. If you know Jesus this morning, you are a saint. You are a saint. Because all the word means is someone who has been set apart and made right before God. That's what a saint is. And so he addresses the letter to Christians, to believers. In verse 1 of this chapter, we're looking at this morning, chapter 4, he called them, my beloved, my much loved ones. And then he talks about prayer, along with all these other things. But my point is, prayer is for believers. Secondly, prayer is talking to God. If I were to give you the most basic definition of prayer, it's that, talking to God, like I'm talking to you this morning. That's what prayer is, it's talking to God, talking to your creator, talking to your savior. We know that from the scripture because we're gonna look at this verse in just a moment, verse six of chapter four, and he says, let your requests be made known to God. And how do you do that? You talk to him about them. You talk to him about them. Jesus gave us a little insight on what prayer is in Matthew 6 where he said this, he said, now listen, don't pray like the Pharisees, like the hypocrites. But when you pray, talk to God this way, our Father, which aren't in heaven. That's talking to God. That's what prayer is in its most essential nature. It's talking to God. And one last thing. Jesus is sufficient for all our prayer needs. Next week we'll see a verse in the same chapter. And you know the verse. It says, I can do all things through Christ who strengthens who? Me. And so when you pray, I want you to know you talk to the one who is the creator, the one for whom nothing is too difficult, including that thing you're currently stressed out about this morning. He is sufficient to help you deal with it. Okay? So let's unpack these verses, and we're gonna begin with his simple admonition in verse six, be anxious for nothing. Stop worrying. The word for anxious means to be troubled. It means to be filled with care for something. It means to be fretful, in other words, to worry. It speaks of anxiety due to pressing circumstances. Let me illustrate. We went out yesterday to Gilead, had a wonderful time with many of you at our family day. And one of the things that a good number of us did was to ride the zipline. And my granddaughter and my grandson wanted to ride the zipline, which was a little surprising to their grandma and me, because if I lift them this high, they absolutely go crazy. No, Papa! No, Papa! No, Papa! And they both watched the zipline and said, we want to do that. And we're going, what? I lift you this high, and you're terrified. You're petrified. You're going to be way up in the air. I want to do it. I want to do it. They both did it. And I went with Lily, and Lori had the privilege of going with Henry. And when both of them got up there, you get all strapped in, you have your helmet, and they're double-checking and triple-checking and quadruple-checking all the connections. And you're right at the edge. And Ian Beck, bless his heart, he had to deal with Henry. and he did a fine job with him. And so he pulls back the safety lines and he says, on the count of three, go. And so Lily and I are up there, so it's one, two, three, and I just jump off. And I get all the way down, and I turn around, and she's still. And down below we're all going, you can do it, you can do it, come on, come on, you can do it, you can do it. She was experiencing what this word is forbidding. Angst, anxiety, because when you're at the foot of the mountain looking up, it doesn't look that scary. But when you're standing up above looking down, it's like five miles high, right? Remember the first time you went on a high dive? You crawled up the ladder. I can do this piece of cake. You walk out to the edge of the board. think pretty sure it's about 20 miles down there there's no way I'm doing that well I was that was her but she stepped off and she did it and this is what she looked like and then there was Henry she took about three minutes to coax her off Henry took about seven or eight and he he wanted to do it and But he was afraid to do it. He wanted to do it. He was afraid to do it. He wanted to do it. He was afraid to do it. And we finally said, wait, you can't do it. There's people waiting. And Mimi was up there talking to him. And finally, I was thinking, you know, Ian, just pick him up and let him go. And I was about ready to run up there, and Ian picked him up and let him go. And this is what Henry looked like. He was kicking his little legs like crazy. About halfway down, the fake crying turned into kind of a, this is actually kind of fun. And then afterwards, I said, did you like that? No, I didn't like that. I said, but you did it. I didn't like it. Well, they experienced angst, worry, anxiety because of pressing circumstances, right? And all of us can relate to that. And that's what Paul forbids here. He says, be anxious for nothing. He gave this command to his readers, forbidding fretting about nothing, meaning not even one thing. And I know we're sitting here this morning going, not even this? No, not even that. He says, I don't want you to be concerned about one single thing, including the things. The way this is written in the Greek, Including the things you're currently thinking about so he writes to them and says I don't want you to be worried about anything including including the thing you're currently thinking about and By the way folks that's for you, and that's for me He forbids being anxious filled with care being fretting and troubled over those things and and to drive his point home on the scope of the prohibition it's nothing not even one single thing Paul placed this word for nothing first in the sentence in the Greek construction and what that means is that's what the Greeks would do when they wanted you to pay attention to something they would move that word to the front of the sentence that's how this is written so the word that this sentence begins with in Greek is the word nothing so That's Paul's way of saying, folks, I really mean this. I really mean this. I'm serious about this. Don't you dare worry about one single solitary thing. Somebody once said, worrying is like a rocking chair. Worrying is like a rocking chair. It gives you something to do, but it won't get you anywhere. It gives you something to do, but it's not going to get you anywhere. Right? You've all sat in a rocking chair. Although I've been in a few rocking chairs that actually do kind of move forward. So maybe that's not a good illustration. So let's put that one aside. You know, the Lord Jesus had some wonderful insight on worry. I want to share it with you. It's found in the Sermon on the Mount, Matthew 6, 25 through 34. And he teaches us there that we shouldn't reduce life to things. And I wanna read what he says from a translation called the New Testament in Modern English by J.B. Phillips. And I want you to listen carefully because these are words from your Lord about the subject that we're talking about this morning, worry. Listen to what he says. He says, don't worry about living. Wondering, what are you going to eat? Drink. Or what are you going to wear? He says, surely life is more important than food and the body more important than the clothes you wear. Look at the birds in the sky. Look at the birds in the sky. Check out the birds that are flying through the air. They never sow, meaning plant, nor reap, meaning harvest, nor store away in barns. They don't build little silos and put their food in there for the year. and yet your heavenly father feeds them." Now listen to the question. Aren't you more valuable than those birds? What's the implied answer? Of course! We're the crown of his creation. He continues, Can any of you, however much he worries, make himself an inch taller or live longer? Why do you worry about clothes? Consider how the wild flowers grow. They neither weave. But I tell you that even Solomon in all of his glory was never arrayed like one of these. Solomon had a wardrobe to kill for. And he said, look at the flowers. Look at the flowers. I mean in the spring of the year we look at the fields of poppies and lupine and they're spectacular. And he's pointing to the field. I've been to the place where he preached this sermon. And I've been there in the spring of the year. They don't get orange poppies, but they get what are called red anemones. And there's this carpet of red. And sprinkled amongst the red poppies is lupine. And I mean, it's spectacular. So he's pointing at that and he's saying, lookit, aren't you more important than them? Don't you think he's gonna make sure there's a shirt on your back? Don't you think he's gonna make sure you got a pair of pants to wear? Dress? Jackets? Well, the obvious answer is, of course. He said, they neither work nor weave, but I tell you that even Solomon in all of his glory never arrayed like one of these. Now, if God so clothes the flowers of the field, which are alive today and burned in the stove tomorrow because they dry up and they use them as kindling, is he not much more likely to clothe you? And then he says something interesting. He says, you little faiths. This is Jesus talking. He says, you little faiths. or in the King James, O ye of little faith. But literally in the Greek, it's you little faiths. You have some faith, but it's little. It's little. It's not much. So he continues. Don't worry. Don't keep saying, what shall we eat? What shall we drink? What shall we wear? because that's what pagans are always looking for. He said that's what they lost, that's what they unsaved, that's what those who don't know Christ are seeking. He says, your heavenly father knows that you need them all. So set your heart on his kingdom, set your heart on his goodness, and then all these things, food, water, clothing, will come to you as a matter of course. Don't worry at all then about tomorrow. Here comes his counsel. Tomorrow can take care of itself. One day's trouble is enough for one day. That's his counsel to us. That's the counsel of our Lord. And it jives exactly with what Paul's teaching us here. You know, worry is the enemy of faith. Worry is the enemy of faith. In Romans chapter 14, the Apostle Paul said, whatever is not of faith is, you can probably conclude it, what does he say? It's sin. Whatever is not of faith is sin. In Hebrews chapter 11, he says, it is impossible to please God if you don't have faith. That's how important it is. So Paul's counsel to these believers, his counsel to us this morning, is start with this simple admonition. Stop worrying. Now I know that's easier said than done. Been there, done that. Am there, doing it. But then he gives us a second part. He says start praying. You know, the Apostle Paul understood it wasn't enough to exhort his friends to stop worrying about stuff. He also needed to give them an alternative action. This is the alternative action. The word but, which begins this section, is a word that indicates contrast. It's called an adversative. It's a word that indicates contrast. So Paul is saying in contrast to being anxious, pray. So it seems like he is saying the moment you feel the worry creeping in, that's the moment to do what? To pray. That's the moment to pray. He admonished them to stop worrying and then start praying. Exchange worry for prayer, replace fretting with talking to God. Then he goes on and says, in everything. He gives the scope of the praying. He says, in everything. In contrast to worrying about nothing, he said, pray about what? Everything. Pray about everything. All things, every solitary item generating anxiety. And I think there's one other aspect to what he meant by in everything. It may also indicate whatever circumstance or setting you're in. Every kind of moment, listen carefully, every kind of moment is an appropriate time to pray. Sometimes it might be praise for his blessings and sometimes it might be a cry for help because of trouble. but your response should be the same. Pray. Then Paul proceeded to use four words which taught his friends four principles about this discipline we call prayer. So let me tell you what those four principles are. He uses the word prayer. That's the means to handle worry identified by Paul. Pray. Pray. The word literally means, this is an interesting word, literally means toward God. That's what this word means, toward God. So what he seems to be saying is we have this attitude toward God. This word was used to prayer to God in general in the culture of the first century. In classical Greek, which was the Greek used by the culture before the Koine Greek, which is the Greek of the New Testament, The classical term was used to describe anyone who prayed to any deity, but the New Testament takes that word and kind of warms it up. It takes the stiffness out of the classical use of it, and it uses it in a friendly, personal, warm way, as the words you would use in a conversation with a friend. Pray toward God. Speak to your God. The word also suggests that the one asking was to have a worshipful attitude toward God. He came reverently and asked his God to meet a need. Luke 18.1, Jesus said, pray and faint not. or Ephesians 6.18, the Apostle Paul wrote to the believers in Ephesus and his counsel was this, with all prayer and petition, pray at all times in the Spirit. Or 1 Thessalonians 5.17, you know this one, pray without ceasing. Or in Hebrews 4.15, And 16, the writer of the book says, therefore, let us draw near with confidence to the throne of grace. Why? So that we may receive mercy, which is pity for our failures, and find grace to help in time of need. Grace is power for our challenges. Or in James 4 too, you know this one, you have not because you ask not. So Paul says pray. And he uses this word to help us understand this is an act of worship. We come and we move towards God. We address our purse to him specifically. Second word he uses is supplication. And this word denotes the expression of a personal need. You know what this does? It legitimizes asking God to meet a particular individual need. It's okay. It's okay to ask God for a very specific personal need that you have. I remember years ago, I was just a Christian, maybe a year, and I was in college, my first year of college, and I was at home, and it was summertime, my brother had a dog named Samantha, and he was gone for the weekend, my job was to watch over dog. And if you know anything about me, I don't like dogs. And I'm glad you do. And this isn't a commentary on dogs per se, it's just to simply say, it's not my thing. So he said, can you watch my dog for me? And I said, oh, OK. So I did. And so every night, I would have to let the dog out. And the dog was very good. It would go out. I wouldn't have to go out with it, which I thought was good. Let the dog just go out and do its thing. And then the dog would come back to the slider. And you could hear him panting and whining and scratching. And OK, I'll let him in. So this was Saturday night. I let him out. It was about 10.30. And continued watching whatever I was watching on TV. And it suddenly dawned on me about a half hour later, I didn't hear him scratching. I didn't hear him begging to get in or she. And so I thought, Oh, this isn't good. So I opened up the slider and I whistled, Samantha, nothing. I went out in the backyard and kind of looked around, nothing. Went out in the front yard, looked around, nothing. Started walking around the block, nothing. And I'm going, oh man, we live near a real busy highway. And so I'm thinking to myself, oh, Samantha, did you run up on the highway and did you get hit by a car? Because this is bad if you did. And so as a young Christian, I thought I'd memorize these verses. Be anxious for nothing but in everything. OK, I'm praying. God, this is my brother's dog. And it's very important to him. And I don't know where she is. I hope she would come back. Would you just bring her back? Went back in the house, sat down, and about five minutes later I heard, and there was Samantha. And as a brand new Christian, through a simple experience like that, God taught me something. You can pray about anything, Chris. I'll listen. I'll listen. That dog came back. So that's a personal need I had. What are your personal needs this morning? I want you to know something. He legitimizes your praying to him about those personal needs. It doesn't matter what it is. You don't have to hold back. You just tell him what it is. Physical, material, emotional, spiritual, work-related, school-related. It doesn't matter. Kids, you can pray about your tests. but I want to encourage you to do a little preparation because God can't bring anything out of a vacuum so you gotta put something in there but then he can give you clarity, help you recall it. He says you can pray about your personal needs and you know what does Jesus think about our personal needs? Well let me tell you by reading to you from Matthew chapter 7 another section from the Sermon on the Mount verses 7 through 11 You'll recognize the verses. Ask and it will be given to you. Seek and you will find. Knock and it will be opened unto you. Those are all present tense. You continually ask, he'll continually give. You continually seek, you will continually find. You continually knock, and he'll continually open. For everyone who asks, receives. And he who seeks, finds. And to him who knocks, it will be opened. Or what is a man, what man among you, who when his son asks for a loaf of bread, he's given a stone, or if he asks for a fish, he will not give him a snake, will he? If you then, being evil, know how to give good gifts to your children, how much more will your Father who is in heaven give what is good to those who ask Him?" I love that verse. See, It assures us that the Lord Jesus is interested in our personal needs. So Paul uses this word. He says, you can pray about your personal needs. Third principle, he says, do it with thanksgiving. Paul reminded the Christians at Philippi to pray with an attitude of gratitude. Their prayers should be accompanied by thankfulness for previous answers to prayer as well as those they anticipated from the current prayers. And this, frankly, was another way of their acknowledging the fact that whatever came their way was for their good, and it would ultimately bring glory to God. So he says, pray with a spirit of thanksgiving. I think sometimes we come and we pray, not with a spirit of thanksgiving, but with a spirit of panic and greed. Get me out of this, and God, I need this. No, that's not how we should come. We should come humbly, with contrite heart. say Lord I I just desperately need you to intervene here and help me. God loves to hear his children come that way and then to come with Lord you've done this in the past and I believe you're gonna do it again and I'm gonna thank you in advance for it with Thanksgiving. And then one last principle he says let your requests now that's an interesting word the word emphasizes the specifics or details of the request. You see Paul was reminding his readers Their prayers should be particular, not general. Did you catch that one? Particular, not general. Descriptive, not generic. Do you remember in Mark chapter 10, the blind man in Jericho, he heard Jesus was coming and he started shouting out. Do you remember what he shouted out? He shouted out, have mercy on me, son of David. And he kept shouting it to such an extent that all the people around him said, would you just shut up? Just be still, stop. And then Jesus said, no, bring him to me. They brought him to Jesus and Jesus asked him the question. You remember what the question was? What do you want me to do for you? Well, he'd been shouting out, have mercy on me, son of David, have mercy on me, son of David. And I mean, he was repeating it over and over and over and over. And Jesus brings him over and the first thing Jesus says to him is, what do you want me to do? And he said, I'm blind, I wanna see. And then what did Jesus do? He healed him. I think there's a lesson there. Pray specifically. Pray particularly. Don't pray generically. Don't pray in generalities. Pray specifically about what it is you need. Whatever that need might be. I prayed for Samantha to come home. She did. I don't know how many times Lori and I in our early married days had to pray for specific amounts of money. We had Andy, unexpectedly, my second year at Biola. So I'm working two part-time jobs on staff at this school, plus I'm a youth pastor, going to school full-time. Lori's working full-time. And she goes to the doctor, and the doctor says, I have grand news for you. You're going to have a baby. And she came home and said, we're going to have a baby. Because we weren't ready for it. And the biggest concern we had was, how are we going to pay for the baby? Because we didn't have the money to pay. So we started praying, God, can you help us meet this need? We came home for Christmas break. Her grandpa wanted to talk to all the grandkids. So he sat us all down. He said, I want you to know that for the past several years, my wife, it was her step grandma, and I have been setting aside money for each of you. And we think it might be a good time to let you know it's available. And Lori and I looked at each other and went, he heard our prayer. And when I walked out of the hospital with baby in arm, wife on arm, Andy was completely paid for. Why? Because I prayed instead of worried. That's what God does. He does stuff like that. You guys have had it happen, haven't you? Time and time again. You've seen his hand. You've seen how he's provided. So he says, let your requests, meaning I'm interested, the Lord is interested in our personal needs. And then he says, let them be known to God. He concludes by identifying the one to whom their prayers were to be addressed. Now, this is really interesting how this is written in the Greek. You've heard this lesson from me thousands of times. So when the Greeks wanted you to really pay attention to a specific object in what they're writing, they would insert the definite article the in the text. They didn't have to do that normally because it was always implied in the text. But whenever they inserted it into the text, it was like they wanted you to really pay attention, really zoom in on this, and that's how this is written. So let me read it again, but let me put the definite article then. Be made known to the God, not just any God, the God, the one true God, the one and only God, your God. Give them to him. leave those requests with him. That video we watched a moment ago ended with 1st Peter chapter 5 and a few verses and I want to read those verses because they're very appropriate here. Listen to what Peter wrote to these people and by the way these people were going through horrendous days of suffering for their faith. They were undergoing tremendous trial and tribulation simply because they were followers of Jesus. And listen to what he writes to them. This is 1 Peter chapter 5, and I'm starting at verse 6. He says, therefore, humble yourselves under the mighty hand of God that he may exalt you at the proper time. Here's the one we're all familiar with. Casting all your anxiety or worry on him. Why? Because he cares for you. Don't you love that verse? He invites us to come with all of our worries and all of our anxieties and he says, bring them to me, cast them on me, throw them on me, dump them on me. And he said, the reason I want you to do that is because I care for you. I love you. You're my children. I will help you with this. He's the one true God. He's the one who can help us. To be made known what that is, it's a present imperative. So Paul is commanding these people to continually, that's the idea behind the presence, to continually inform God of their specific needs versus always worrying and fretting about them. And that's the exhortation to us. That's the admonition to us this morning. Stop worrying and start praying. Now there's one point of clarification. God doesn't need us to inform Him of our needs. We understand that, don't we? God is what? He's omniscient. Big word. All it means is God knows everything. I like what David wrote about this very theme in Psalm 139. And in the first few verses, he wrote these words just to make sure you understand this about God. He says, oh Lord, you've searched me and known me You know when I sit down. You know when I rise up. You understand my thoughts from afar. You're in heaven, I'm here, but you know my thoughts. You scrutinize my path and my lying down. You're intimately acquainted with all my ways. Even before there's a word on my tongue, behold, oh Lord, you know it. That's how well he knows us. So what's the deal then about prayer? Well, let me suggest this. He commands us to pray to make them known because it's an expression. It's an expression of our recognition of our weakness, and it's an absolute expression of reliance on Him. It's an expression of our weaknesses, but it's also an expression of our absolute reliance upon Him. Proverbs 3, 5, and 6. Maybe two other verses that you may have memorized early on. Say them with me if you know them. Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Lean not unto your own understanding. In all your ways acknowledge Him and He will direct your paths. He will make them straight. And then I'm going to give you a third sub-point here. The first was stop praying. The second was Excuse me. A little Freudian slip there, I guess. Stop worrying, start praying, and I'm gonna give you another S. It's not on your outline, so put it down there. Secure peace. Secure peace. Paul assured his friends that when they prayed this way, the way he just described, using these principles he's just taught them, he said the Lord's gonna hear and respond. In verse seven he begins, and the peace of God. You see, the result of their prayers wouldn't initially be a specific answer. Did you take note of that? He doesn't say, and God will answer. No, he says, and the peace of God. And so he's teaching them that there's going to be a cessation of internal upheaval that's brought on by their current circumstances. There's going to be a state of untroubled, undisturbed calmness and tranquility internally. The Lord's shalom, that's the Hebrew word for peace, the Lord's shalom will be their possession. Well, they wait for their prayers to be answered. Isaiah 26.3, another verse I memorized early, thou wilt keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on thee. or in Galatians 5.22, the fruit of the Spirit, but the fruit of the Spirit is love, joy, peace. God's peace, not your peace, not my peace, God's peace. And he says that this peace, it surpasses all comprehension. This could be understood one of two ways. One, it may refer to how this divine peace went beyond all powers of humans to understand. Have you experienced that supernatural peace under dire circumstances and you just were amazed at the fact that you were calm, cool, and collected? And you're thinking to yourself, how is this possible? Because that ain't me. I've had that experience. flying at 30,000 feet and the plane loses 1,000 feet in altitude like this. You know what that's like? It's better than a roller coaster drop. But in the midst of it, as I voiced my concern, man, I was just enveloped in this peace. And it didn't matter what the outcome was going to be. Obviously, I survived. When I was asked to become the senior pastor of Santa Rosa Bible Church, following in the steps of Pastor Graves, who'd been here for like a hundred years, I thought to myself, this is too big a task for me. I can't do this. But I prayed, and God gave me a peace. The first time I preached in front of a group of people, I was absolutely petrified. I thought I had about 45 minutes of notes. I was done in 12. because I talk so fast, because I was so nervous. But God gives us this supernatural peace. That's one idea. It goes beyond our human comprehension. Some have suggested, it may refer to how it would go beyond every human power to relieve worry, maybe so, but in either case, God's peace would be sufficiently awesome in the midst of trials. I want you guys to know that. It's true. I mean, don't we believe this is God's Word? Isn't this a word from God? Doesn't he always tell the truth? Isn't he this infinitely powerful God who can do anything? And yet, we struggle, don't we? Including this guy. Elizabeth Elliot, she was a missionary along with her husband, along with four other couples, and all five of the men died trying to reach this Indian tribe in Ecuador. They were called the Alcas. She became an author, she became a writer, speaker, And she wrote this about peace. I really like it. I'm going to read it to you. It says, The peace of God means the absence of conflict with the will of God. It means harmony within, conquered with His purposes for our lives. Only Christ himself, I like this, only Christ himself who slept in the boat in the storm and then spoke calm to the wind and the waves can stand beside us when we are in a panic and say to us, peace. It will not be explainable. It transcends human understanding and there is nothing else like it in the whole wide world. and that is absolutely true. He says it'll guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. That's a military term and he uses it to describe peace. It means to keep under guard. It refers to a sentry or a soldier posted at an ancient city gate to keep the citizens under protective custody by keeping the enemy out. And that's the word he uses to describe peace. It's a soldier posted by God at your heart's door and it keeps those darts of worry and anxiety from penetrating. I like how one person put it, God's peace like a sentinel stands guard and patrols before the heart's door, keeping worry out. And this guard watches over our emotions and intellect, our hearts and minds in troubling times. Now let me finish by just getting real practical with you. As you sit here this morning, are you sick with worry? Are you sick with worry? Here's a prescription from your Lord. Here's the prescription right here. As you sit here this morning, are you poisoned with anxiety about today? Well, here's God's antidote. Here's God's antidote. Are you suffering from fretting that has caused you to lose sleep? Hmm? Lose your appetite? Lose your focus. Lose your hope. Lose your hope. Lose your health. Or lose perspective. Well, here's divine counsel. And it's simple. Stop worrying and start praying. Let me give you a short list of things you could do. First of all, list the things you're presently worrying about. That shouldn't take too long. Because they're right there, right? They're right there. You know what they are. So make a list. What am I concerned about? What am I worrying about? What's creating this angst in my life right now? List the things you're presently worrying about. Secondly, confess your anxiety. Confess you're worrying about them. Because he says, if we confess our sins, he's faithful and just to always forgive us our sins and to always cleanse us, okay? So confess, confess your anxiety. Thirdly, pray specifically with thanksgiving about each of those concerns. Pray specifically, not generally, and with a spirit of thanksgiving. Lord, I've prayed about stuff before, you've answered before, and I'm thanking you for that, and I'm gonna thank you for what you're gonna do out there in the future. Pray specifically, but with a spirit of thanksgiving. And then remember what he's promised. I'll post a guard right outside the door, and that guard is called peace. Now, having said all of that, let me assure you, worry will begin to creep back in. Have you noticed that? You do pray about it, you do specifically tell him about it, but then it begins to creep back in. Well, don't hesitate, don't think, just fall to your knees and pray again. And when you pray again, maybe think about the words of Jesus that he gave to his disciples in John 14 one, he said, let not your hearts be troubled don't be afraid you believe in God believe also in me or my absolute favorite in that same chapter John 14 and at the near the end of the chapter he says these words peace I leave with you my peace give to you not as the world gives do I give to you do not let your heart be troubled nor let it be fearful I Close this morning Trusting that God has given you something this morning for your current challenges regarding worry and I want to share with you in closing a A quote I came across as I was studying, and I posted it. If you're a Facebook friend, you saw it. But I'm going to read it to all of you because it's a pretty good quote. It's from Spurgeon. You know, and I always hear people say, you know, why do these pastors quote these guys from like long ago? Here's why. Listen to this. Why do you worry? What possible use does your worrying serve? You are aboard such a large ship that you would be unable to steer even if your captain placed you at the helm. You would not even be able to adjust the sails. Yet you worry as if you were the captain or the helmsman of the vessel. And then he gives this gentle counsel. Be quiet, dear soul. Be quiet, dear soul. God is the master. Let's pray. Father, thank you for our time together this morning. And Lord, we love you very much. We're very grateful for your many, many blessings upon us. And we know what a great God you are. And we know what an awesome God you are. And yet, Lord, we find it difficult at times to trust you when our waters get pretty heavy. And the storm gets pretty dark. And the winds begin to blow, and the rain begins to fall, and the thunder and the lightning is terrifying. And yet, in the midst of all of that, we're still your children. You're still the God of the universe. And your promises are still true, they're still real. And these words this morning are such a blessing to us, such an encouragement to us. Be anxious for nothing but in everything by prayer and supplication. Let your requests be made known unto God and the peace of God that passes all comprehension. We'll keep our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. Help each soul here this morning to look to you and to stop worrying and in its place start praying. Praying specifically about their personal needs and doing so with a spirit of thanksgiving. And Lord if there's anybody here this morning who doesn't know Christ the Savior this morning may you draw them to yourself and save their soul helping them understand that until they know you, they can't talk to you. But they can know you if they heed the words of the Apostle Paul who said, if you confess with your mouth the Lord Jesus and believe in your heart God raised Him from the dead, you will be saved. It's a promise. May that person this morning who's with us acknowledge they are sinners. They need a Savior. That Savior is Jesus Christ. And may they believe He died in their place and paid their debt of sin. And may they believe He rose from the dead to prove He was the Son of God and to prove you, Father, accepted Jesus in payment in full for their sins. May they express that from a sincere heart to you this morning. And may they know this peace that we've talked about. And may they experience this privilege as each of us who know you experiences it every day as we talk to you, our God. And I ask these things in Jesus' name. Amen. This message has been brought to you by the Santa Rosa Bible Church. Our purpose is to lift up the Lord by living out the word, loving one another, and leading others to Christ. Be sure to visit us on the web at www.srbible.org or come visit us in person at 4575 Badger Road, Santa Rosa, CA 95409. You can also give us a call at 707-538-2385.