Episode #411: When Anxiety Spirals: Praying Philippians 4 – Praying Scripture

Hey, friend. Welcome to today's episode of Good God Talks, where we grow our habits of having uncommon conversations with God in everyday life moments.

I'm gonna be reading for us from Philippians chapter 4, and it's verses 4 through 9. And what I'm simply doing is reading through the verses and using it as a conversation starter or conversation continuer with God. This passage talks about anxiety, and that's something that I can really struggle with. It's really easy for me to get caught up in the angst of what could go wrong, and I have to work on rejecting that mental model and embracing what God offers me instead. And so this is a familiar passage that prompts prayer for me in a lot of different ways. So picking it up in Philippians chapter 4, verse 4:

"Rejoice in the Lord always. Again, I will say rejoice. Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God."

God, I thank You that I can rejoice in You always. It's not the circumstances that make me rejoice. It's not the hardship that I rejoice in. I rejoice in You always because You are at hand, because You are not far off, but You are active and engaged.

Let your reasonableness, that's translated sometimes as gentleness, be known to everyone.

God, I thank You that I can be reasonable. That I can be gentle even in hard conversations. That's one of the areas that I get anxious in. So I thank You, God, that I can come with prayer and thanksgiving and offering this to You as I share my requests, as I ask for Your help. God, help me to be reasonable. Help me to be gentle. Help me to be aware of You as I go through hard things. Help me to be more aware of You than the things that make me feel anxious.

Continuing in verse 7, it says, "And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." God, I thank You that Your peace surpasses all understanding. That Your peace goes where my understanding stops. That Your peace will carry me even through things that I don't understand. But I struggle to allow Your peace to guard my heart and my mind. God prompt me in awareness of what that looks like for me to receive Your peace beyond my understanding. What does it look like, Lord, for Your peace to guard my heart and my mind?

I'm convicted. Even now, here in this recording, of ways that I let my mind spiral instead of allowing God's peace to guard it. That I don't interrogate thoughts until they've run a little bit of havoc. That I can give over to anxiety my heart and my mind in certain circumstances instead of seeking for the Lord's peace.

In verse 8 and 9 it says:

"Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is just, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is commendable, if there is any excellence, if there is anything worthy of praise, think about these things.

What you have learned and received and heard and seen in me, practice these things, and the God of peace will be with you."

God, I notice this in these verses. The peace of God, the God of peace. I want to put into practice the things that You're teaching me. And in the hard moments, Lord, when it's hard for me to think of anything else besides what produces anxiety in me, Lord, You are all of these things. You are true and honorable and just. You are pure and lovely and commendable. You are excellent. You are worthy of praise. So even now, God, I turn my attention to You. I lift it up from the things that are anxiety-inducing for me, and I put my gaze on You, God.

You are the God of peace. You are worthy to be thought of. So I want You to help me with this, Lord. Will you help me? I want to put into practice what I've learned and received and heard and seen. Will You show me one of those and how I can do it, Lord?

And that's the question that I also invite you to take to God today. This letter was written by Paul and Timothy, and so the instruction is coming from what these believers had learned and heard and received and seen in them. But let's apply this to what we have received from the Lord, maybe through other people in our lives, maybe not.

God, here in this moment, remind me of something I have learned or received or heard or seen of you. How can I put that into practice today?

And then walk in what he shows you and keep that conversation going with him.

Have a good talk.

And if you've been encouraged by this content, please share it with a friend and help them grow in their conversational relationship with God too!

Connect with Jen on Instagram(opens in new tab)