Verse
VERSE

Philippians 4:6

Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things. Whatever you have learned or received or heard from me, or seen in me—put it into practice. And the God of peace will be with you.

New International Version

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Don't Be Careful and Here's Why

Philippians 4:6-7 cautions us against troubling, perplexing care.

Don’t Be “Careful”

We are told, “Be careful for nothing,” in the old English version of the Bible. This is a similar expression as used in Matthew 6:25, which says, “Take no thought for your life” (KJV). That is, avoid anxious care and distracting thoughts when you experience need and difficulty in your life.

In this context, “care” doesn’t mean diligence, wise planning, and appropriate concern. It means the doubt-filled care and distrust of God, which is both sin and foolishness, and which only jumbles and distracts your mind. 

God commands us in his Word not to be anxious. Anxiety shows our distrust in God’s ability to take care of us, and makes us ineffective in serving God.

Instead, Pray About Everything

As an antidote against “perplexing care”—or worry‚—God commands us to constantly pray and tell him our concerns. He says, “In everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (v. 6 KJV, emphasis added).

This means that we must not only keep spending regular times in prayer, but we also must pray in every specific emergency. 

“In everything,” God says. So when anything burdens our spirits, we must ease our minds through prayer. When our circumstances are complicated or distressing, we must seek God’s direction and support.

Because God Wants To Listen

Prayer is the offering up of our desires to God, or making these desires known to him: “Let your requests be made known to God” (v. 6 KJV). This doesn’t mean that God needs to be told our wants or desires, for he knows them better than we can tell him.

Instead, God wants to have us tell him our regards and concerns. He wants to hear us express both his great mercy as we thank him, and our sense of dependence on him as we make requests.

The effect of this will be the peace of God guarding our hearts.

And God Gives Peace

The peace of God is the comfortable sense that our relationship with God has been mended—that we have favor in his sight, we have the hope of heaven, and we look forward to enjoying him now and forever.

God offers you favor in his sight—not because of what you have done, but because of what God has done for you through his Son, Jesus.

God sent his Son Jesus to live the obedient life that we could not. Jesus died as our substitute to rescue us from the punishment we deserved for all the ways we sin against God. Then Jesus rose from the dead, putting our debt and sin to rest, offering us a new life of peace with God.

God’s gift of peace is received by faith—by believing that Jesus is Lord and Savior—and by taking God at his Word. God’s peace isn’t earned; it’s given.

Remembering God’s gift of peace in Jesus will keep us from sinning in our troubles, and from sinking under them. For, our circumstantial peace is governed by our eternal peace. God’s peace will keep you calm, without distracting emotions, and with inward satisfaction when you give both your eternal and temporary concerns to him. 

For, “You keep him in perfect peace whose mind is stayed on you, because he trusts in you” (Isaiah 26:3 ESV).

This devotional is adapted by Bibles.net from Matthew Henry’s Commentary, which is in the Public Domain. His full text can be found here at biblestudytools.com.

Compare Versions

ESV

Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.

CSB

Don't worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

NLT

 Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

NIV

Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

KJV

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.

NKJV

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.
Videos

Article: 4 Min

The Best Invitation You'll Ever Receive

by Bibles.net

Image

Be anxious
for nothing

PHILIPPIANS 4:6 NKJV
Quote

The way to be
anxious about nothing
is to be prayerful
about everything.

D.A. Carson
Article: 12 Min

Talk to God About Your Anxiety

by Jon Bloom at Desiring God

Verse
MATTHEW 11:28 NLT

Then Jesus said, “Come to me, all of you who are weary and carry heavy burdens, and I will give you rest.”

Article: 6 Min

Peace that Passes All Understanding

by Ed Welch at Ligonier Ministries

Image

Rejoice always,
pray constantly,
give thanks
in everything
for this is God's will for you
in Christ Jesus. 

1 Thessalonians 5:16-18 CSB
Message: 40 Min

The Joy of Gospel
Thoughts and Peace

by Britt Merrick

Article: 5 Min

Abby’s Story: How Do I Stop Worrying?

by Abby McDonald at Proverbs 31 Ministries

Quote

The more you
read Scripture,
the more you actually
talk to God
rather than think about fear.

Verse
EPHESIANS 6:18 NLT

Pray in the Spirit at all times and on every occasion. Stay alert and be persistent in your prayers for all believers everywhere.

Podcast: 38 Min

Life in Christ

by Brad Wetherell

Verse
Matthew 6:31-33 ESV

Therefore do not be anxious, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the Gentiles seek after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them all. But seek first the kingdom of God and his righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.

Quote

Humans are needy
by design.
Will we abandon the
myth of independence
and seek God?  

Image

You keep him
in perfect peace

whose mind
is stayed
on you,

because he trusts in you.

ISAIAH 26:3 ESV
Verse
COLOSSIANS 3:15-16 NIV

Let the peace of Christ rule in your hearts, since as members of one body you were called to peace. And be thankful. Let the message of Christ dwell among you richly as you teach and admonish one another with all wisdom through psalms, hymns, and songs from the Spirit, singing to God with gratitude in your hearts.

Quote

‘You pray and make your requests made known unto God,
and God will do something.’
It is not your prayer that is going to do it,
it is not you who is going to do it, but God.
‘The peace of God that passeth all understanding’
—He, through it all—

'will keep your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.’

Quote

What Does It Mean That God's Peace Will Guard My Heart?

The word for "guard" in Philippians 4:7 is not the word that means to "watch," or "keep imprisoned." It is a word that is often used in a military sense, meaning "to stand at a post and guard against the aggression of an enemy." When peace is on guard, the Christian has entered an impregnable citadel from which nothing can dislodge him. The name of the fortress is Christ, and the guard is peace. The peace of God stands guard and keeps worry from the corroding our hearts, and unworthy thoughts from tearing up our minds.

This is the kind of peace men really want: They want a peace that deals with the past, one where no strings of conscience dipped in the poison of past sins tear at them and torture them hour by hour. They want a peace that governs the present, with no unsatisfied desires gnawing at their hearts. They want a peace that holds promise for the future, where no foreboding fear of the unknown and dark tomorrow threatens them. And that is exactly the peace through which the guilt of the past is forgiven; by which the trials of the present are overcome; and in which our destiny in the future is secured eternally.

by John MacArthur | Source
Image

Above all else,
guard your heart,
for everything
you do

flows from it.

PROVERBS 4:23 NIV
Message: 34 Min

The Peace and the Presence of God

by Colin Smith

Quote

What a Friend We Have in Jesus

What a friend we have in Jesus,
All our sins and griefs to bear!
What a privilege to carry
Everything to God in prayer!

Oh, what peace we often forfeit,
Oh, what needless pain we bear,
All because we do not carry
Everything to God in prayer!

by Joseph M. Scriven, 1855 | Source
Books
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