“Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again:
Rejoice! Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 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.
Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true,
whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely,
whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such
things.” – Philippians 4:4-8 NIV
The world is full of suffering emotionally,
mentally and physically. Most of us come to church and pray real earnestly for sufferings
to go away, and then we stay in intimate relationship with the Lord daily or we
tend to live our lives originally like how it was before. This is because we
think that God is some kind of a magical genie, who grants any wish that we
prayed for. However, the truth is that God is not a magical genie and prayers
do not work like that. Matthew 6:25-34 states that God tells us
not to worry about anything because He knows everything (Romans 11:33-36) that we need, and He would
be always willingly give them to us (Romans 8:32). Nevertheless, He does not
want to give us anything that we may spend them on our own pleasures (James 4:3). He wants to give us everything
that we currently need for His purpose and His glory and (Philippians 4:19). “For in him all things were created: things in heaven and on earth,
visible and invisible, whether thrones or powers or rulers or authorities; all
things have been created through him and for him. He is before all things, and
in him all things hold together.” (Colossians 1:16-17)
Therefore, since everything is created
through Jesus Christ and for Him (Psalm 24:1), we have to focus on Him rather
than ourselves (Colossians 3:3-4) so that we may ask for
His glory and His Kingdom to be magnified (Psalm 34:3). We should transform our
mind-sets from this worldly nature into the nature of God (Romans 12:2), so that we would be willing
to pray before Him according to the will of God. This is exactly what prayers
are about (1 John 4:14-15)—in order to do His will
until the end of the age for His glory and His kingdom (Matthew 7:21). In addition, this is also the
reason why Apostle Paul urges us to rejoice in everything that God has done and
what is yet to come (Philippians 4:4-5) by having positive
mind-sets (Philippians 4:8). “For the kingdom of God is not a matter of eating and drinking, but of
righteousness, peace and joy in the Holy Spirit.” (Romans 14:17) In fact, worry is sin as it
can fall into anxiety and then depression. This is because if we are depressed
about living our lives, then we are ignoring the power of God (1 Chronicles 29:11-12). In addition to
this, there would be no point on living our lives anymore, due to the fact that
all of us have been created to be the image of God (Genesis 1:27). “For those God foreknew he also predestined to be conformed to the
image of his Son, that he might be the firstborn among many brothers and
sisters. And those he predestined, he also called; those he called, he also
justified; those he justified, he also glorified.” (Romans 8:29-30)
Very truly I tell
you, whoever believes in me will do the works I have been doing, and they will
do even greater things than these, because I am going to the Father. And I will
do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son.
You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it. (John 14:12-14)
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