Thursday

Related Verses
Phil. 4:6-7
6 In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 And the peace of God, which surpasses every man’s understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

Isa. 9:6
6 For a child is born to us, A son is given to us; And the government Is upon His shoulder; And His name will be called Wonderful Counselor, Mighty God, Eternal Father, Prince of Peace.

Isa. 30:15
15 For thus says the Lord Jehovah, the Holy One of Israel, In returning and rest you will be saved; In quietness and in trust will be your strength; But you were not willing,

John 14:27
27 Peace I leave with you; My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Do not let your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.

John 16:33
33 These things I have spoken to you that in Me you may have peace. In the world you have affliction, but take courage; I have overcome the world.

Luke 7:50
50 But He said to the woman, Your faith has saved you. Go in peace.

Rom. 3:17
17 And the way of peace they have not known.

Rom. 5:1
1 Therefore having been justified out of faith, we have peace toward God through our Lord Jesus Christ,

Rom. 8:6
6 For the mind set on the flesh is death, but the mind set on the spirit is life and peace.

Rom. 15:13
13 Now the God of hope fill you with all joy and peace in believing, that you may abound in hope in the power of the Holy Spirit.

Rom. 16:20
20 Now the God of peace will crush Satan under your feet shortly. The grace of our Lord Jesus be with you.

Related Reading
In Philippians 4:6 Paul speaks of prayer, petition, and thanksgiving. Prayer is general and includes the essence of worship and fellowship; petition is special and is related to particular needs…Daily we need to have a time to contact the Lord, to have fellowship with Him, and to worship Him. During the course of our fellowship, we may have particular requests. Thus, we not only pray in a general way but make petitions to the Lord in a particular way. 

Both our prayer and petition should be accompanied by thanksgiving to the Lord. Recently, I once again learned the lesson of being thankful to the Lord. When I asked the Lord to restore my health, I was rebuked by Him for not thanking Him for the measure of health I still had. Whenever we are ill, we need to say, “Lord, I thank You that I am still healthy to a certain degree. Lord, I am ill, but I am not so ill that I cannot minister Christ to the saints. But, Lord, You know that I am not altogether healthy. Therefore, I ask You to improve my health and make me fully healthy again.” We all need to learn to petition the Lord in this way. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 529-530) 

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In Philippians 4:6 Paul…says, “In nothing be anxious.”…Anxiety undermines the living of Christ. Instead of being anxious, in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we should make our requests known to God. Then the peace of God will guard our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus (v. 7). The peace of God saves us from worry and anxiety…Being free from anxiety is for the purpose of keeping us calm and tranquil. 

In verse 6…the words in everything refer to the many different things that happen to us day by day. Under the Lord’s blessing, many positive things happen, and we hear good news. However, we also experience negative things and hear bad news. Nevertheless, in everything by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, we should make our requests known to God. 

It may seem easy to understand Paul’s word, “Let your requests be made known to God.”…I have spent considerable time studying the phrase to God. It may also be rendered “before God” or “in the presence of God.” The Greek preposition is pros, often translated “with” (John 1:1; Mark 9:19; 2 Cor. 5:8; 1 Cor. 16:6; 1 John 1:2). It denotes motion toward, in the sense of a living union and communion, implying fellowship…We should let our requests be made known to God in such a fellowship, in such a union and communion. This requires that we pray to contact God. 

Even if we do not have specific needs, we still need a time of prayer day by day to worship the Lord and have fellowship with Him. As we worship the Lord and have fellowship with Him in prayer, we enjoy communion with Him and practice the organic union with Him. 

The issue, the result, of practicing the organic union with the Lord is that the peace of God guards our hearts and thoughts in Christ Jesus (Phil. 4:7). The peace of God is actually God as peace (v. 9) infused into us through our fellowship with Him by prayer. This peace is the counterpoise to troubles and the antidote to anxiety (John 16:33)…The God of peace patrols, or stands guard, before our hearts and thoughts in Christ. 

If we would have a life free of anxiety, we need to realize that all our circumstances, good or bad, have been assigned to us by God. We need to have [the] realization with a full assurance…[that our] circumstances come from God’s assignment…[Then we] will be able to worship the Lord for His arrangement. (Life-study of Philippians, pp. 225-227, 516) 

Further Reading: Life-study of Philippians, msgs. 60, 62; CWWL, 1994–1997, vol. 3, “The Organic Aspect of God’s Salvation,” ch. 4