“Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” – Philippians 4:6
Yesterday, we talked about Philippians 4:6. Paul tells us that we should not worry about anything, but instead pray about everything. But there is an important part of the verse that we must be careful not to overlook.
Paul says, “by prayer and petition, with THANKSGIVING, present your requests to God.” When you are prone to worry, it is difficult to rejoice. When you receive that bad report, when you get that bad news, when you find yourself walking through that horrific season of life, it is hard to put worry aside and choose to be thankful. But that is exactly what Paul is telling us to do.
And he tells us we can rejoice today because if we are in Christ, we aren’t dealing with this situation alone. The God we serve tells us in Hebrews 13:5, “I will never leave you or abandon you.”
Not only can we pray with thanksgiving because we know we are not alone, but we also can rejoice because whatever it is we are dealing with, we know that we are dealing with it by divine permission. We can keep going back to Romans 8:28, “We know that all things work together for the good of those who love God…”
What Paul was saying was, “Nothing can get to me unless it first goes through God. And if it goes through God, even the bad will turn to good.”
If you are a child of the King today, the Bible says that God is with you and God promises to use the trials in your life for His glory and your good. Therefore, we can rejoice in the Lord no matter what!
Whatever it is you are facing, the Bible says to praise your way through it!