Philippians 4:6-7
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
“Preacher, I have anxiety problems and that is why I need ….” My answer to these people is that what they think they need they do not need. We try to find peace of heart and mind in things or vices that cannot give peace. If we are going to find peace of heart and mind, we must go to the One who is the Prince of peace and ask for Him to give us peace.
God says in the Scriptures that you find peace of heart and mind through prayer. You will notice that the peace of God guards your hearts and minds after you let your requests be made known unto God. In other words, you will never find the peace of God that keeps your heart and mind without prayer. Let me point out several observations about finding God’s peace for your heart and mind.
First, the only peace that can satisfy is the peace of God. Many find peace, but the peace they find does not give them peace of mind and heart. Many find peace through drugs and alcohol, but vices only mute problems for a moment that attack your heart and mind. Only the peace of God gives peace of heart and mind; everything else that offers peace is a fraud.
Second, only the peace of God will guard your heart and mind. You will notice that the peace of God will keep your heart and mind. The word keep means to guard. In other words, God’s peace guards your heart and mind from that which makes you unstable, fearful, and full of anxiety. God’s peace replaces anxiety with calmness and serenity. Many wonder how someone can face troubles in life and be so calm, and the answer is that God gave them His peace to guard their mind and heart.
Third, there is no limit to what God wants you to make known to Him. God says to Be careful for nothing when bringing your requests to Him. You must lay your problems and situation out to God for that is His prescription for getting His peace to guard your heart and mind. To withhold one thing from God opens the door for anxiety to trouble your heart and mind.
Fourth, God wants you to lay it all out to Him so He can give you His peace to guard your heart and mind. God says to let your requests be known unto God. Notice that God says requests. In other words, God says to give Him everything; lay the whole situation out at His feet. His peace can only guard your heart and mind if you give Him all your requests. Stop trying to handle some things yourself and give all your problems to God. Our problem is we hold onto some things that we think we can handle and give the rest to God, and then wonder why we are still dealing with anxiety. All your anxiety problems will be resolved when you give God all your requests.
Fifth, your peace problem is a prayer problem. Calm through troubled times is as far as the believer praying and casting all their problems on God. You can resolve all anxiety issues by praying and laying everything out before God; when you do this is when you find God’s peace for your heart and mind.
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