Thursday Thought |Discovering Movement in an Ancient Letter Prayer Moves Me Away from Anxiety Philippians 4:4-9
In today’s post, we’ll briefly explore Philippians 4:6, in which the Apostle Paul writes to the church in Philippi and encourages his friends to choose prayer during times of anxiety. If you are anything like me, you are familiar with anxious feelings, and this passage of scripture has been a lifesaver for me. I pray Paul’s practical words will be life giving to you … “Monday Moment | with Thanks and a Thought”, 08/27’s post - “Thursday Thought | When I Find Myself in a Liminal Space”, 08/31’s post - “Monday Moment - Discovering Movement in an Ancient Letter God Moves Me Along” and 09/03’s post “Thursday Thought Discovering Movement in an Ancient Letter.”
Modern-day psychology considers anxiety on a spectrum. “Normal anxiety” can be a helpful alarm system and motivator. On the other end of the spectrum, anxiety can become a persistent pattern of behavior that causes severe medical, vocational, and relational problems.
Although psychologists today identify different types of anxiety, anxiety is not a modern phenomenon. Paul, who wrote his letter while incarcerated in a Roman prison some 2000 years ago, knew about anxiety as did his friends who lived in an environment that was hostile to their faith in Jesus.
With those factors as a backdrop, Paul wrote:
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
This verse became a prayer-model for me during a season of extremely high stress. I was worried about our aging parents and little grandkids; concerned about my young adult daughters; overwhelmed by workplace demands; distressed about financial matters; confused by what was happening in my faith community; and struggling with painful health conditions.
At that time, one of my job responsibilities was to teach stress management classes. One type of stress I told participants about was cumulative stress. At the time, I did not confess I could be a poster child for that category in which one stressor piles on top of another, until eventually the brain in essence responds, “Okay, I’ve had enough!!”
One day after reading the Philippians passage, I determined that I was going to make Philippians 4:6 my prayer practice. Scripture is a wonderful tool to help guide our prayers—especially, when we don’t know how to pray or our souls are riddled with anxiety.
When people are caught in a worry-web, a specific, familiar prayer model may help reduce tension. Often a tendency is to pray one’s worries, which reinforces and may intensify anxiety. I’m sure Paul wrote these instructions from that wise understanding.
Another of my job responsibilities at that time was to create handouts for clients and group participants. So, I decided to create a handout showing how to break down Paul’s prayer suggestion for my Bible-believing friends. I’m sharing a portion of that now:
Do not be anxious about anything,
My Prayer: God, you know I am anxious about: List those anxieties mentally or in a journal.
but in every situation by prayers and petition,
My Prayer: God, I need your help with: Again, make a list. I once heard author Max Lucado suggest we reduce our prayer request to one brief statement, and I wholeheartedly agree with this suggestion because after all, God already knows all the details.
with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
My Prayer: God, Your Word tells me to bring my requests with thanksgiving. List those gifts for which you are grateful. When our brains are filled with worrisome, “what if…” thoughts, also known as anticipatory stress, it is easy to lose sight of what is good in life. Thanksgiving is a powerful re-framing tool, and expressing gratitude is encouraged throughout scripture.
This is the method I used way back when, and many years later, I continue to use to help direct my prayers, especially when my soul is full of anxiety, using other scriptures as well. There is nothing magical about this method nor is there any one specific “correct” formula for praying, but many people have told me this model was helpful for them.
Blessings on your journey out of anxiety and into prayer and thanksgiving,
