Philippians 4:6 – ‘Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.’
According to Jon Gordon in his book, The Garden, research shows you cannot be grateful and stressed at the same time.
When the Apostle Paul says that we are to in everything have prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, the word he uses for prayer is also sometimes translated as worship. Christians are called to focus on God’s greatness as part of overcoming their anxieties.
If you were to come into the presence of an honorable world leader who could help you with some of your problems, you wouldn’t first lead in with spewing off all your problems connected to ultimatums. You would first want to thank that leader for caring enough to hear you. You would be grateful for their time, their focus, and their desire to potentially share in relieving you of your burdens.
Before we jump into the deep issues of our hearts, it is important we learn to pray in gratitude with faith in God’s power, greatness, and amazing love that he would be considerate of us. When we build ourselves up in who God is along with his promises, by the time we get to our needs, our hearts will be in a more peaceful state. To God be the glory!
Heavenly Father, thank you for being considerate of me. Thank you for being greater than all my circumstances. Thank you that you have promised to work out all things for the good of those who love you and are called according to your purposes. Thank you for the invitation to share my heart with you and know that you will do what is best for me. Amen.