Don't worry about anything...

Phil. 4:4-7 Always be full of joy in the Lord; I say it again, rejoice! Let everyone see that you are unselfish and considerate in all you do. Remember that the Lord is coming soon. Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything; tell God your needs and don’t forget to thank him for his answers. If you do this you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will keep your thoughts and your hearts quiet and at rest as you trust in Christ Jesus.

Someone once told me, “Charles, if you’re praying, you’re not worrying, and if you’re worrying, you’re not praying.” Although simplistic, I think this is the essence of Paul’s and Timothy’s message here to the Philippians so long ago and to us even today. There is no better time than Lent to check our prayer lives, and one way to do this is to ask ourselves the following rather simple, but, I think, important questions: Am I remembering to pray or ignorantly trying to carry the burden all by myself? Am I worrying too much about how to pray or concentrating on just talking to God? Do I really believe that He hears me? Do I really believe that my prayers can change my life and the lives of others?

The older I get, the more I know how tenuous and fragile this life really is. We have no assurances except God’s presence with us. Therefore, with God’s help, I am using this year’s Lent to concentrate on my prayer life. My first prayer is to ask God to forgive my unbelief and to strengthen my faith in the power of my own prayers and the prayers of others. Whether it is that my father--who turns 90 this year--won’t fall or that my 2-month-old great nephew--who has severe birth defects--will prosper, I need to pray constantly.

As the verse above commands us, the job is basically simple after all--pray, believe, and trust. We just need to believe that God hears every one of our prayers and will continue to care for and heal those in them. We need to be alert to His answers that are right before us, be patient for prayers we don’t see answered (or may never see answered) and, meanwhile, be an answer ourselves for others’ prayers in our midst.

Written by Charles Moore