How many of you can remember your mother saying to you; “Say Please and Thank You!” It is a way of being polite and courteous. Saying “Please” is a way of signifying that you realize you are asking for a favor and are not just barking a command. Sometimes that is not the case like when you say – “Please shut up!” Most of the times it is part of making a request of someone that you would value … like “Please pass the salt.”
Being thankful is all that and much more. Look at what the Bible says in Philippians 4:6-8 …
“Be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
You might be thinking … “Wait a minute this is a passage about prayer.” Yes, it includes the word prayer but it is actually about not being anxious and experiencing the “…peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension…”
Many people in recovery struggle with fear and anxiety. It comes from the stress of living a double life. It comes from years of shame and guilt. It comes from living in fear of the truth becoming known or the threat of getting a STD. It comes from the work of sin eating away at your soul and believing the lies that come from the demonic forces of darkness.
There is power in praying prayers of supplication and thanksgiving. Supplication is simply asking God for things. Nothing complicated about that. Freely ask God for what you need. However, the qualifier is to ask with thanksgiving. How many times do we cry out … “God help me!” We feel horrible. Fear and anxiety can be shaking us to our core and we can feel like we cannot take it anymore.
There is nothing wrong with just crying out to God for help. However, this passage teaches us that crying out to God for help with thanksgiving is what will help relieve the anxiety and the peace of God which surpasses all understand will guard our hearts and our minds in Christ Jesus.
Here is what that looks like. “God help me. I thank you that you have helped me in the past. I thank you that you hear me and your Spirit dwells within me. Thank you for this experience … for this pain … for this anxiety. Thank you that You want to teach me and help me.”
We tend to throw up a little prayer for help and dive right back into the thoughts that are consuming us … only adding to the anxiety. Or we escape, get a quick fix, feel better for awhile and then end up deeper in the fear and anxiety. Sometimes … with our quick little cries for help we throw up a prayer and don’t listen for an answer. Spending the time to be thankful moves our eyes from the problem to the answer.
But what happens if the peace doesn’t come? One of my favorite teachers in seminary once said … “Then you need to keep praying until it does.” Because this is a promise from God. The peace will come but you may have to battle in prayer with thanksgiving for awhile. Please … keep praying prayers of supplication with thanksgiving. The peace will come. Ask the Spirit, the Comforter and Counselor to guide you in praying with thanksgiving.