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Dealing with Anxiety by Fr. Reid Hensarling
Philippians 4:1-13
I would like to deal with the subject of anxiety, its antidote, prayer, and the product of the antidote, namely the peace of God. I want to first remind ourselves that Paul was writing to the church at Philippi from prison (refers to imprisonment in Chapter 1:14). It seems that he would have no logical reason to say, "Have no anxiety about anything." His external circumstances were pathetic. He was probably in chains, and he was persecuted and suffered for the sake of Christ. He may have felt that he had little or no hope of escaping from prison.
The verb carries a negative connotation of anxiety or worry in verse 6. Anxiety is an attempt to carry the burden of the future ourselves, especially about things over which one has no control. I believe this is a common problem that we all share. Paul is literally saying, "You (plural) stop being anxious, stop worrying." Paul had good reasons to be anxious, didn't he? He was in prison and being persecuted, yet he tells them to stop worrying, not to be overly anxious about anything, and he also leaves them no exceptions. Paul knows that God is greater than all their troubles and problems and this fact is true for us today. God is able to take care of the problems and us.
So what is the solution or antidote to worry and anxiety? We live in a world where anxiety thrives, where anxious situations cannot be avoided. Paul says by prayer. Prayer is leaving our worries, anxieties, and fears in the safe hands of God, letting Him do the work of carrying the burden, of carrying the heavy load, instead of us. The way to be anxious about nothing is to be prayerful about everything. Paul uses three synonyms to emphasize this important point - prayer and petitions and requests. Prayer has to be personal with the Lord. Let Him know what is going on (let them be made known to God. He needs to hear about it. Our needs must be vocalized, and let us not forget to pray with thanksgiving. Our prayers should always be accompanied with the element of thanksgiving (just look at the Psalms). Thanksgiving means giving God the glory in everything, making room for him, casting our cares on him, letting our cares be his cares. Lay your requests out before the Lord and always be grateful.
What happens when we do pray with thanksgiving? What is the product of our prayer? God's Peace! The coordinating conjunction is used here to connect prayer and his divine peace. They form an important link - they go hand in hand together. Interestingly, this phrase, the peace of God, is found nowhere else in the NT. This peace is grounded in God's presence, an inward serenity. It is not our peace or the world's peace. Rather, it is his Spirit which calms and comforts our spirit, and our inner strife and anxiety melts in the process, and it is a peace which surpasses all understanding. It is a mystery beyond comprehension. Whatever we ask in prayer with thanksgiving, what God gives is infinitely more, going beyond what our finite minds can conceive. It is beyond our ability, outside our grasp, to produce God's peace. His peace WILL guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus. The result of believing prayer is that the peace of God will stand like a sentinel on guard upon our hearts. This word for guarding is a military term, picturing God's peace as a detachment of soldiers standing guard over a city so as to protect it from attack. God's peace, like an army of soldiers, will keep guard over our thoughts and feelings so that they will be as safe against the assaults of worry and anxiety as any fortress would. The peace of the Lord be always with you.
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