PHILIPPIANS 4:6-7

6. Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

A young woman once struggled with doubts about her future. One night, she knelt by her bed and cried out to God. The next morning, she felt a surprising peace fill her heart. Soon, she realized that through prayer, she wasn't just asking for guidance; she discovered her purpose was to trust in God’s plan. This experience taught her that prayer is not merely about seeking answers but about surrendering control, encouraging us to engage in honest conversations with God about our fears and hopes. Brothers and sister like this the woman in our story all us have somethings in our lives that cause us to have to fear and worry about in lives. But thanks be unto God we do not have to succumb to worries in this life. We can Go to GOD in prayer.

MPT: In these verses, Paul reminds the Philippians of the transformative power of prayer in the face of anxiety. He teaches that instead of succumbing to worries, they should turn to God with their requests, receiving His peace that not only calms their fears but also serves as a protective force for their hearts and minds, grounded in their faith in Christ.

MPS: That’s what our sermon is about this morning that is no matter what we face in this this we don't have to face alone but we can go to God in prayer and we go to him prayer we can exchange our worry for his peace.

Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.

1. Prayer: Trade our worries for Prayer

Philippians 4:6 “do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”

exegesis: Paul understanding that the Philippians Church had some troubles that they were going through and some the issues they were going through and some of the division that were experiencing.

Paul instructs them not to pull their hair our but to trade their worries in for prayer.

Paul wants them rely on on God rather than their own dependence on The LORD.

Despite whats going on Paul says to them and us Do not Panic but Pray.

We are living in an anxious world and worried world and the multitudes of people when faced with with the troubles of this life no matter what they are we tend to lean in more into our fears than we do God.

But we can honest this morning there are some things in this life that will allow fear and anxiety and worry to creep in.

When you have to wait for results of test or when life gets you in a jam and you don't know which way to turn that cause fear and worry.

When we look at our country and how crooked the leadership is that's something that causes worry.

When see how The president is trying to get rid of Department of education which would end Iep programs for children who need more attention then other and it would end protection against civil rights in the school protecting them from discrimination.

when they want to get rid of DEI because they claim it cause people who are unqualified black people in positions yet they continue to have they legacy admissions for their university That’s something that causes worry in our lives.

Paul says even in all that we don't have to panic but we can pray because the Lord is near and we take everything to the Lord in prayer.

WE can replace our worry with prayer and taking everything in prayer with the attitude of gratitude.

That while we are making our request known to God we ought do it with a complain spirit.

But That while we letting God know the cares of our heart and casting our burdens on the Lord we should be doing it with thanksgiving in our heart.

2. Peace: God's Powerful Guard

Exegesis: And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Peace in the heart will follow praying about what concerns us.

The phrase "the peace of God" occurs nowhere else in the New Testament.

This is peace that comes from God rather than peace with God.

It is a peace that comes to us when we pray because we enter into the tranquility of God's own presence.

Those doing the praying are believers.

This peace, or release from tension, is something that we cannot fully comprehend.

At the same time this peace acts like a sentry to guard believers' hearts (affections) and minds (thoughts) under the sovereign influence of Christ Jesus.

"Together these words refer to the entire inner being of the Christian, his emotions, affections, thoughts and moral choices.

This inner part of a person, then, so vulnerable to attack by the enemy, is that which God's peace is set, like battle-ready soldiers, to protect."

Most of us have experienced some, or even much, lack of complete peace from time to time when we pray. Paul was not saying that we will feel absolutely at ease and relieved after we pray as he directed here. Still a measure of peace will be ours. At least we will have the confidence that we have laid the matter before the Lord and sought His aid.

This verse does not promise peace as the indicator of God's will when we are praying about what we should do.

Paul did not say here that, if we need to make a decision, God will make His will known to us by giving us peace about the right choice.

The promise of this verse is that if we pray, rather than worry (v. 6), God will give us peace. Anxiety brings no peace, but praying does.