Devotionals

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Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Philippians 4:6-7 NKJV

We’ve all gone to God in prayer with lists. Lists of things we need, lists of things we want, lists of things we don’t want, lists of people for whom we are concerned, lists of sins we’ve committed, lists, lists, lists. Not that God minds; to the contrary, He wants us to come to Him and trust Him to supply our needs, and the Bible is full of His promises to do so. In fact, we are not even able to imagine the extent to which God is able to bless us (see Ephesians 3:20).

As Paul indicates in Philippians 4:6, bringing our [lists of] needs and concerns to God is the way to cease being anxious about them. In verse 7, Paul states that once we have brought our lists to God, His peace will protect our hearts and minds from further worry and stress.

But we should never go to God with only our lists, and nothing else. Our prayers should always include, indeed they should be dominated by, thanksgiving (see Psalm 100, Psalm 103, Philippians 4:6) and a desire for His kingdom and righteousness (see Matthew 6:33). Just as importantly, our prayers must be full of faith and confidence (see Mark 11:22-24, Hebrews 10:35-38 & 11:6).

Finally, we should never go to God to ask for something that is not His will, something inconsistent with what is promised in the Bible. We should have it settled in our minds that God will not hear, much less answer, prayers that oppose His Word (see 1 John 5:14-15). It is absolutely necessary to be familiar with what the Bible says we can have. Consider how foolish a person would feel if he made a long list of clothing items he needed, and then went into a grocery store and asked a clerk to help him locate the underwear. When we have a list of things to pray for, we should first check God’s Word to see if those things are available to us.

This Week’s Seed of Faith:

Father, I thank You that Your Word is full of wonderful promises to meet all of my needs and to bless me beyond my capacity to imagine. Thank You that Your peace will cover me when I bring my requests to you in faith and in the knowledge that I am asking according to Your Word and Your will. I will come to you with praise and thanksgiving for all that You are, all that You do, for everything You’ve given me, and for everything You’ve brought me through. Thank You, most of all, for Jesus and the forgiveness of all of my sins. Thank You for calling me Your child. In the Name of Jesus, Amen.

Adapted from the author's website at http://www.seedwords.com/pages.asp?pageid=82884

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