Worry and fear play important roles in living a Christian life by faith....
Our minds at times are plagued by various challenges we face in daily life and we find difficulty understanding the present purpose God may have in what we are to do. It is at these times in life the very choices we make are crucial in order for God's power to have an effect and intervene in our time of need."
In the New Testament, Saint Paul gives us some specific instruction as to what we are to do. In the letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul writes in chapter 4, verse 6:
" Do not be anxious...about anything! Instead, in every situation, in every circumstance you face in life...concerning anything that concerns you...it is of the utmost you begin...to pray! Allow your petitions, your supplications, coupled with a heart of gratefulness and thanksgiving, give all these concerns, needs, and specific requests to God...let them be made known to God, exchanging all the worries and fear that haunt you presently, and replace them with His Peace. As you continue to practice this in your Christian life, you will find He will become the very center of all that concerns you and you can be at peace, putting your faith and trust in Him."
In this passage of Scripture, there are 5 specific things that seem to "stick out" as I begin to live a life of faith in Christ Jesus.
First, the word "pray" or in other translations "prayer". The Greek word for prayer is the word "proseuche". It is a common word used in many of the letters and is found 127 times in the New Testament alone. Actually, the Greek word is a compound word, the first part is "pros"...a preposition meaning to "move toward or get closer", carrying with it the idea of drawing close to a point of being face to face.
The second part of the word prayer in Greek is the word "euche". This is an ancient word even in the Greek language and is defined as having a wish, a desire, a type of prayer that is sealed with a vow.
The whole point seems to me is when we begin to pray or enter into prayer...it begins the exchange: giving to the Lord Jesus our present worries and burdens by faith and receiving from Him...His very Peace. This is where our faith in Him...begins!
The second word is petition or supplication. The Greek word is "deisis" and means a person who has a need or lack in their life and pleads rather strongly for help in this matter. It has a connotation of being a very passionate request...an immediate request that comes from the heart of the one asking.
The third word is "thanksgiving". This also is a compound word from the Greek language. The word in Greek is "eucharis", and the first part "eu" simply means good...or all is well. The word "charis" is defined as grace...an in this sense, His Grace. So, putting these two Greek words together is could be viewed as "receiving a portion of God's Grace into our lives that is freely given to us from the very goodness of God Himself. It is an action that comes from the heart, beginning in prayer that is received by Our Father and now as we allow His Peace to enter into us, He assures us He has not only heard our prayer...but will answer our prayer!...all of this stemming from our faith... that begins with our own heart learning to put our trust in Him. Now we give to God a genuine and sincere outpouring of "giving thanks to the Holy One".
The fourth word is requests....particularly those specific requests. It comes from the Greek word "aiteo" and has the meaning of being very serious in regards to a specific request...even adamant in a respectful manner, letting God know this is a matter of dire interest and really demands His attention. This part of our prayer are coupled with a secure reliance, a type of confidence, and most of all a trust in God that He is even more concerned about our request...than even we are.
The fifth word in these 2 verses in Philippians is...known. This is the Greek word "gnoridzo" and basically means to "declare something" or to make something "undoubtedly clear". Making something known in this sense is an act of boldness on our part in our prayer, yet it comes from our heart that has been encouraged by God for us to do so...to stand before Him face to face and have the utmost confidence He is totally interested in what we have..."to declare."
I happen to have a cat named "Bean Dip". She seems to always know when it is time for her to be fed, and will sit on the floor nearby. As I approach her, she continues to sit in the same position with her eyes directly on me as until I am literally standing right over her. She doesn't move, she simply keeps her eyes directly focused on me. She has developed a trust in me...and to be honest...expects me to feed her...without fear... even if she may have knocked something over on a table or counter a few minutes before, she still remains sitting and looking at me with a complete trust I am about to feed her...without reservation.
Hmmm...So maybe "Bean Dip" has a grip on what these verses in Philippians mean too...just sayin.
I would like to thank Rick Renner and his daily devotional "Sparkling Gems" on helping me to understand and giving insight to these verses.
Our minds at times are plagued by various challenges we face in daily life and we find difficulty understanding the present purpose God may have in what we are to do. It is at these times in life the very choices we make are crucial in order for God's power to have an effect and intervene in our time of need."
In the New Testament, Saint Paul gives us some specific instruction as to what we are to do. In the letter to the Philippians, Saint Paul writes in chapter 4, verse 6:
" Do not be anxious...about anything! Instead, in every situation, in every circumstance you face in life...concerning anything that concerns you...it is of the utmost you begin...to pray! Allow your petitions, your supplications, coupled with a heart of gratefulness and thanksgiving, give all these concerns, needs, and specific requests to God...let them be made known to God, exchanging all the worries and fear that haunt you presently, and replace them with His Peace. As you continue to practice this in your Christian life, you will find He will become the very center of all that concerns you and you can be at peace, putting your faith and trust in Him."
In this passage of Scripture, there are 5 specific things that seem to "stick out" as I begin to live a life of faith in Christ Jesus.
First, the word "pray" or in other translations "prayer". The Greek word for prayer is the word "proseuche". It is a common word used in many of the letters and is found 127 times in the New Testament alone. Actually, the Greek word is a compound word, the first part is "pros"...a preposition meaning to "move toward or get closer", carrying with it the idea of drawing close to a point of being face to face.
The second part of the word prayer in Greek is the word "euche". This is an ancient word even in the Greek language and is defined as having a wish, a desire, a type of prayer that is sealed with a vow.
The whole point seems to me is when we begin to pray or enter into prayer...it begins the exchange: giving to the Lord Jesus our present worries and burdens by faith and receiving from Him...His very Peace. This is where our faith in Him...begins!
The second word is petition or supplication. The Greek word is "deisis" and means a person who has a need or lack in their life and pleads rather strongly for help in this matter. It has a connotation of being a very passionate request...an immediate request that comes from the heart of the one asking.
The third word is "thanksgiving". This also is a compound word from the Greek language. The word in Greek is "eucharis", and the first part "eu" simply means good...or all is well. The word "charis" is defined as grace...an in this sense, His Grace. So, putting these two Greek words together is could be viewed as "receiving a portion of God's Grace into our lives that is freely given to us from the very goodness of God Himself. It is an action that comes from the heart, beginning in prayer that is received by Our Father and now as we allow His Peace to enter into us, He assures us He has not only heard our prayer...but will answer our prayer!...all of this stemming from our faith... that begins with our own heart learning to put our trust in Him. Now we give to God a genuine and sincere outpouring of "giving thanks to the Holy One".
The fourth word is requests....particularly those specific requests. It comes from the Greek word "aiteo" and has the meaning of being very serious in regards to a specific request...even adamant in a respectful manner, letting God know this is a matter of dire interest and really demands His attention. This part of our prayer are coupled with a secure reliance, a type of confidence, and most of all a trust in God that He is even more concerned about our request...than even we are.
The fifth word in these 2 verses in Philippians is...known. This is the Greek word "gnoridzo" and basically means to "declare something" or to make something "undoubtedly clear". Making something known in this sense is an act of boldness on our part in our prayer, yet it comes from our heart that has been encouraged by God for us to do so...to stand before Him face to face and have the utmost confidence He is totally interested in what we have..."to declare."
I happen to have a cat named "Bean Dip". She seems to always know when it is time for her to be fed, and will sit on the floor nearby. As I approach her, she continues to sit in the same position with her eyes directly on me as until I am literally standing right over her. She doesn't move, she simply keeps her eyes directly focused on me. She has developed a trust in me...and to be honest...expects me to feed her...without fear... even if she may have knocked something over on a table or counter a few minutes before, she still remains sitting and looking at me with a complete trust I am about to feed her...without reservation.
Hmmm...So maybe "Bean Dip" has a grip on what these verses in Philippians mean too...just sayin.
I would like to thank Rick Renner and his daily devotional "Sparkling Gems" on helping me to understand and giving insight to these verses.
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