“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.” Philippians 4:6,7 (NIV)
The other day when we were leaving home for a Gospel music trip, we noticed that our SUV wasn’t warming up the way it was supposed to. Right away I thought the worst, and wanted to take it to a garage to get it checked out. I started worrying and getting anxious about what to do. At first, because of my anxiety over the situation, I didn’t think about praying about it.
It turned out that it was just a little low on anti-freeze, and I breathed a prayer of relief. Afterwards I realized that prayer should have been my first response to the situation, instead of worry and anxiety.
Situations! . . . we run into all kinds of them throughout the course of our day. Some are difficult, some are worrisome, some are discouraging, and some we don’t have solutions for. This verse in Philippians encourages us to give everything to God in prayer. It starts out saying that we don’t have to worry and be anxious about anything. I have read that passage so many times, yet I am still learning to accept that truth and leave with God the things that stir up worry in my heart and soul.
If we look at verse 7, it tells us that the result of praying (instead of worrying) is God’s peace! We can know His peace in any and every
predicament that we face. The peace that we get from Him gives us that complete assurance that He will always be with us in every situation we go through.
God, I give my worries to You. Please carry them for me and give me the peace that You promised. Amen!
— Milly Jackson
Council Fire is a collaboration with Intertribal Life Ministries and Native Evangelical Fellowship of Canada.
The Council Fire Daily Devotional Book Set is available on the Intertribal Life Ministries website.
Learn more about Council Fire at councilfire365.org