It’s fairly easy for most people to look back and thank God for what He has done in the past, or even what He’s doing presently… But where true peace comes from, is learning to thank Him for the FUTURE—for how He’s going to answer our prayers BEFORE we see the answers…
I heard Philippians 4:6-7 quoted many times growing up, but I only remember the emphasis being placed upon bringing our requests to God “with prayer and supplication”, in order to receive the peace that was promised. It was only recently that the words I had so often overlooked just about jumped off the page at me…
“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.”
Bringing our problems to God and telling Him all about them does not bring peace. Often our prayers are so “problem-centered” that we finish the prayer more stressed out about the problem than when we started. No, the peace that is promised comes from praying solution-centered prayers. But, you might be thinking, “How can I pray a “solution-centered” prayer if I don’t know the solution?” And the answer is very simple—You spend your prayer time THANKING the One who DOES know the solution! 😉 When you trust your problem into His more-than-capable hands and thank Him for what He’s going to do, it’s suddenly no longer your problem to worry about. THEN (and only then!) “the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.”
So start thanking God in advance for His solutions to your problems, and watch your worry melt away, being replaced with the peace and excitement of looking forward to the amazing answer God has in store for you 👏🏼👏🏼
Happy Thanksgiving to all of my American brothers and sisters! 💛
