Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:6-7
Peace as Armor
This is one of my favorite passages in the entire Bible. If you're like me or like most average Americans, you experience an enormous amount of anxiety throughout the day and throughout each week. What Paul, the author of Philippians, is encouraging us here is that, regardless of those situations that feel like they demand us to be anxious, we should not be anxious in those situations.
He doesn't just leave us with that; he gives us a few tips and tricks as well. He tells us that we need to pray and petition, that is, to ask God consistently and incessantly, not as spoiled brats but as thankful sons and daughters. Paul tells us to come to Jesus in every situation and, instead of being anxious, to pray and to pray fervently with thanksgiving. He tells us to present these requests to God instead of just being anxious about things. We can bring the things that make us anxious to the throne of God, and God cares.
How do I know? Paul continues and says, "The peace of God"—the thing that we're seeking, peace when we're anxious and just spinning around in circles and spinning out in general, God offers us peace. We don't know how it works. That's what he means by it transcends all understanding, but we do know that the peace of God guards our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus. When I hear that this will guard our hearts and our minds, I think of anxiety as an enemy, as a weapon, as something that is seeking to take us out. It will if we let it. If we're just anxious and spiraling out of control, that anxiety will take us out. It'll take us away from our families and from the purpose that God has for us. That peace of God, the peace that we are seeking in times of anxiety, the peace that God offers us there, will act as armor against the attacks of anxiety.
When You Don't Know What to Pray
Now, when I think of anxiety here, I think of it in two ways: the psychological and mental condition of anxiety and overwhelming nervousness
Both are valid and both need specific approaches. What Paul is writing about here is unlikely to be clinical anxiety and more about anxiety that comes from the situations that we're in, a feeling of helplessness or being out of control. That's the anxiety I'm going to talk about here in this section about applying this verse, and the verse itself is pretty applicable. You can do just what Paul says and experience the peace of God in this way. My encouragement goes a little bit further, because when you're anxious, you may not know exactly what to pray.
What I used to do, what I've done in the past, is I have memorized this portion of Philippians. When I didn't know what to pray but I was feeling anxious or I was feeling under attack, I would just recite the verse. It would remind me to rejoice, to find joy in my situation because the Lord is near, as it says in Philippians 4:4.
As I'm saying these words about not being anxious about anything, I'm reminded that I can pray about my situation and God hears me. Not only does he hear me, but he provides me with the peace that I'm looking for. Just by reciting this verse in a very practical way, that acts as my prayer. As I come back to earth and I stop spiraling, I can then take my requests one by one to God. More times than not, I experience the peace of God. And that long list of requests that I think I have ends up being just two or three things that I know I can tackle.
Prayer
Father, thank you for your peace! I do ask that your peace that surpasses all understanding would guard the hearts and the minds of me and all those who read this devotional. Be present with us as we go throughout our days, and don't let the situations or the circumstances of life take us out or weigh us down. I pray all this in Jesus' name. Amen.