Are You Looking For A Prayer That Works Part 3

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Pastor Ed Pruitt

Are You Looking For A Prayer That Works
Part 3
Sunday July 15 2007

Philippians 4:6-8 gives us very practical insight into how we pray this prayer of casting your care.

6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.

7 Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

8 And now, dear brothers and sisters, one final thing. Fix your thoughts on what is true, and honorable, and right, and pure, and lovely, and admirable. Think about things that are excellent and worthy of praise.

Now I want to read this passage again in,
Philippians 4:6 (KJV)

6 Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

“Be careful for nothing”

The fact of the matter is that Paul seems to be making a play upon two indefinite pronouns: nothing and everything.

Let me give you my translation,

It goes like this: “Worry about nothing; pray about everything.”

Prayer is the secret of power.

“Worry about nothing.” In verse 4 we were given one of the new commandments God has given us: Rejoice.
Now here is another commandment.
Worry about nothing; pray about everything.

Nothing is a very interesting word.

If you have something, it’s not nothing, that is not correct grammar, but it is an accurate statement.

Nothing is nothing, and you are to worry about nothing.

Does this mean we are to look at life through rose-colored glasses, that we are not to face reality?

Are we to believe that sin is not real, that sickness is not real, that problems are not real?

Are we to ignore these things?

No. Paul says that we are to worry about nothing because we are to pray about everything.

Nothing is the most exclusive word in the English language.
It leaves out everything.

“Worry about nothing.”

I confess that this is a commandment I sometimes break, I worry.

But the reason we are to worry about nothing is