Philippians 4:4-9, “Rejoice in the Lord alway: and again I say, Rejoice. Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand. Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. Finally, brethren, whatsoever things are true, whatsoever things are honest, whatsoever things are just, whatsoever things are pure, whatsoever things are lovely, whatsoever things are of good report; if there be any virtue, and if there be any praise, think on these things. Those things, which ye have both learned, and received, and heard, and seen in me, do: and the God of peace shall be with you.”
You're never wasting your time when you pray. One way or another, God honors prayer. You may pray and not seem to receive any response from God, but all prayer is labor, and God rewards our labors as believers (1st Corinthians 3:8-9). Colossians4:12, “Epaphras, who is one of you, a servant of Christ, saluteth you, always labouring fervently for you in prayers, that ye may stand perfect and complete in all the will of God.” As we just read, prayer is labor! Praying is solely a matter of faith. I get tired of hearing the heathen world recommend prayer as a helpful therapy. No dear friend, prayer is not a “therapy,” it is living by faith if you are a child of God. If you have never been born-again by faith in Jesus Christ, then you are NOT a child of God. You may be a son of God by creation (Luke 3:38), but you are not a son of God by redemption unless you have been born-again (John 1:12-13).
“Prayer is asking,” as Evangelist John R. Rice so often beautifully taught. I have been praying much lately, asking God to give me peace about moving somewhere. I have lived on the island of Guam for 16 years since 2004. When I came here I had a wife, four kids and 3 cats. Now I am leaving alone, just me. My former wife divorced me in 2006. My children are all grown adults, who have gone their own way. I never saw the pets again after the divorce, when I lost my home. I lost everything! But I still have Jesus, and Jesus has me! You'll never know that Jesus is all you need, until Jesus is all you have left! Faith is like film, it develops in the dark. Unshakable faith comes from having your faith shaken. Amen!
Our text passage all goes together. For many years I just quoted Philippians 4:6-7 about prayer. The Bible says to Philippians 4:6-7, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.” The word “supplication” here means “ a petition.” This is something that is an ongoing request from God. I have several things that I petition God for. They are always on my prayer list. I pray about everything throughout the day, as things and people come to mind; but a supplication is an ongoing request, something on the backburners of God's heart and mind.
God knows our needs even before we ask (Matthew 6:7-8). Jesus said in John 14:14, “If ye shall ask any thing in my name, I will do it.” Yet we are taught in 1st John 5:14, “And this is the confidence that we have in him, that, if we ask any thing according to his will, he heareth us:” Please don't miss that last Bible verse. The Bible says we can always have the confidence that God will answer any prayer that is according to His will. I must pray amiss a lot, because God doesn't seem to answer most of my prayers.
That shouldn't be surprising, for we read in Romans 8:26, “Likewise the Spirit also helpeth our infirmities: for we know not what we should pray for as we ought: but the Spirit itself maketh intercession for us with groanings which cannot be uttered.” I love that Scripture passage. The Bible concedes that no believer knows what we ought to pray for. I sure don't! My life is a mess and I haven't clue what God has in store for me next. Quite honestly, it scares me! I do not fear the future after I die and leave this insane planet, but I fear what may befall me here on earth. I fear being alone when I grow older, and my health fails. I fear having a stroke and being confined to a wheelchair, with no wife by my side to love and care for me. How will I make ends meet financially? Where will I live? Who will be there to share my pain, hardships and burdens? These are the things which the Apostle Paul is referring to in Philippians 4:6, “Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer...”
God doesn't want us to worry as saints (as the ungodly world does, who have no faith)...
Matthew 6:30-34, “Wherefore, if God so clothe the grass of the field, which to day is, and to morrow is cast into the oven, shall he not much more clothe you, O ye of little faith? Therefore take no thought, saying, What shall we eat? or, What shall we drink? or, Wherewithal shall we be clothed? (For after all these things do the Gentiles seek:) for your heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these things. But seek ye first the kingdom of God, and his righteousness; and all these things shall be added unto you. Take therefore no thought for the morrow: for the morrow shall take thought for the things of itself. Sufficient unto the day is the evil thereof.”
The Bible says in 2nd Corinthians 5:7, “(For we walk by faith, not by sight:)” That small Bible verse packs a wallop! Those eight beautiful words speaks volumes of truth!!! For we walk BY FAITH, not BY SIGHT. Walking “by sight” means just what it says. If we pray and don't see an answer, and then stop praying because prayer doesn't seem to work for us, we are merely evidencing that we were walking “by sight.” Walking “by faith” means that even when it seems that God has abandoned you, and the Lord is nowhere to be found, and your prayers are merely bouncing off the walls and ceiling, you keep praying anyhow! Walking “by faith” means believing the PROMISES of God in the Holy Bible, even when IT APPEARS that God doesn't exist. That is what faith is—the evidence of things NOT SEEN (Hebrews 11:1). Faith is the substance of things HOPED FOR, not the gratification of those hopes fulfilled.
In Luke 18:1-8 we read the parable of The Widow And The Unjust Judge. The widow wanted to be avenged of someone who did her wrong. The judge was wicked and didn't care. The woman kept pestering the judge, so that eventually he gave her what she wanted, just to make her go away! The Bible likens this parable to God and the believer concerning prayer. Literally, God will seem to ignore us when we pray. But God doesn't ignore us because He is unjust. Quite the contrary, our just and faithful God desires FAITH. Hebrews 11:6, “But without faith it is impossible to please him: for he that cometh to God must believe that he is, and that he is a rewarder of them that diligently seek him.” Dear reader, faith is solely a matter of FAITH. The saint who prays without ceasing (1st Thessalonians 5:17) is LIVING BY FAITH!!! When a saint doesn't pray, they are WALKING BY SIGHT.
Therefore, I have learned that in whatsoever state I am in, to PRAY WITHOUT CEASING about everything. My duty is to pray; God's department is to answer. God may decline my request, or delay the answer for a time. God's will is always THE BEST will for me. It may not be what I wanted, but it is what God knows is best for me. I am very lonely without a wife. I have been alone now for 15 years, and it eats at my soul like cancer. By God's grace I am ready to leave Guam, and move back to the United States very soon. I could have a stroke and be in a wheelchair by sundown. I could die by sunrise tomorrow. Proverbs 27:1, “Boast not thyself of to morrow; for thou knowest not what a day may bring forth.”
I receive many emails from web visitors. Some are depressed. Many struggle with sin. Others struggle with fear and worry concerning the assurance of their salvation. Some people worry, as I tend to start doing at times, fretful about their future here on earth. I always cite to them Hebrews 12:2, “Looking unto Jesus the author and finisher of our faith; who for the joy that was set before him endured the cross, despising the shame, and is set down at the right hand of the throne of God.” It is Jesus Who made our new birth possible. It is Jesus Who saved us by grace through faith in Him. And it is our blessed Jesus Who has promised to finish what He has begun in us. Philippians 1:6, “Being confident of this very thing, that he which hath begun a good work in you will perform it until the day of Jesus Christ:”
When a storm suddenly arose, and waves crashed over the ship on the Sea of Galilee, the disciples panicked (Matthew 8:26). Jesus was soundly asleep in the ship. I love that. When the disciples frantically woke Jesus up, He calmly said: “O ye of little faith?” Matthew 8:26, “And he saith unto them, Why are ye fearful, O ye of little faith? Then he arose, and rebuked the winds and the sea; and there was a great calm.” Dear friend, Jesus was simply in the same ship as the disciples, but if you are a believer, then Jesus lives inside your very body and soul (1st Corinthians 3:16-17). John 14:23, “Jesus answered and said unto him, If a man love me, he will keep my words: and my Father will love him, and we will come unto him, and make our abode with him.”
What precious Bible truths. Please notice the surrounding context in Philippians 4:4-9. I used to only quote the verses on prayer. But then one day I noticed that verse 4 exhorts us as saints to “Rejoice in the Lord, alway: and again I say, Rejoice!” Believers who complain and worry all the time don't pray. I guarantee it! And believers who commit all their concerns to God in prayer don't worry and complain. I believe God intentionally put all these verses together, because they are related.
Likewise, verse 5 says to “Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.” There is considerable debate among theologians over what this word means. I like the Bible commentaries of Charles John Ellicott (1819–1905). He was a distinguished English Christian theologian, academic and churchman. Pastor Ellicott states concerning the intriguing word “moderation” in Philippians 4:5...
(5) Your moderation.—The word here rendered "moderation," properly denotes a sense of what is seemly, or equitable, as distinct from what is required by strict duty or formal law. Such distinction the world recognises when it speaks of what is enjoined, not so much by duty as by "good taste, or "right feeling," or (with some peculiarity of application) by "chivalrous" feeling, or the "spirit of a gentleman." Here it denotes the general sense of what is seemly in a Christian tone of character. In 2 Corinthians 10:1 (where it is translated "gentleness") it is ascribed emphatically to our Lord Himself. But the usage of the New Testament appropriates it especially to the "sweet reasonableness" which "gentleness" may well designate. Thus, in Acts 24:4 it clearly signifies patience, or forbearance; in 2 Corinthians 10:1 it is associated with meekness; in 1 Timothy 3:3, Titus 3:2, with peaceableness; in 1 Peter 2:8, with kindness; in James 3:17 the word "gentle" is placed between "peaceable" and "easy to be entreated" (or rather, persuaded). This spirit is, no doubt, "moderation;" but it is something more. It may refer here both to the exhortation to unity in Philippians 4:1-3, and to the exhortation to joy immediately preceding. It would help the one and chasten the other.
SOURCE: https://biblehub.com/philippians/4-5.htm
It would appear from Philippians 4:4-9 that the believer who continually rejoices in the Lord, does so from having a Christlike spirit, which is synonymous to living a life of prayer and supplication, which goes along with having a thankful heart. And we must not exclude verses 8 and 9, which teach us as Christians to guard our thought life. The Bible says to “THINK ON THESE THINGS.” What things? Things that are true, of good report, pure, lovely, just and things of praise. Dear friend, just as it is true that you are what you eat; likewise your soul is going to only be as healthy as the things you feed it.
I guarantee you that Christians who are always down and miserable, never praising God, never rejoicing, not loving and patient toward others, don't pray at all. If you'll start praising God for what you have instead of what you don't have, from a thankful heart toward God, you'll find a degree of happiness. And if you'll start praying about everything, instead of worrying about everything, you'll be able to claim the perfect peace of God which passeth all understanding (Philippians 4:7). I love that! It means if you cannot get your life in order, nor figure out life, you can still have PERFECT PEACE if you'll have faith in God (Mark 11:22b).
Jesus Came To Give Us Life More Than Abundantly
Tens of millions of Americans are miserable in body and soul. To be happy we all need something to believe. We all need something to do. And we all need someone to love. I learned that truth from former football player, coach and owner of The Dallas Cowboys, George Halas (1895-1983). Dear friend, you will never have peace in your soul until you KNOW that you are saved. If you are still worried about God's salvation of your soul, and you just can't settle the matter, I can help you. I feared for 7 years myself as a teenager, after I got saved at age 13. I wrote a helpful 42 chapter book from all that I learned, titled: “SALVATION” (.PDF book).
Also, here is a book that tremendously helped solidify my salvation beliefs. The book is by Pastor Max D. Younce called: “Salvation And The Public Invitation.” Pastor Ralph 'Yankee' Arnold preached this helpful sermon called: “How To Have Assurance Of Salvation” (MP3 version). Here is my personal testimony: “What If I'm Not Saved?” And here is another helpful article I wrote, by God's grace, titled: “Help, I Doubt My Salvation And Don't Feel Saved.” Here is a wonderful sermon by Pastor Jack Hyles about assurance of salvation called: “John The Baptist, The Doubter.”
I have MANY more resources dear reader, so I encourage you to email me (located at top right) if you have questions or want more resources. You need to KNOW beyond any shadow of a doubt that your name is written in Heaven. Salvation is of the Lord. Grace cannot tolerate any leaven of works salvation. Pastor Yankee Arnold said that in his awesome sermon called: “Satanic Bible Versions Versus The King James Bible - Part 3.” My heart yarns dear friend, for you to know as assuredly as I do that I am a born-again, redeemed, Heaven bound, child of God. Also, I encourage you to daily visit my 'Recent' webpage, to see what God has placed upon the heart of this humble preacher, a broken sinner saved by God's wondrous grace.
Every believer ought to be a soul-warner. Only God can win a soul to Jesus Christ, but we can and should share the Gospel with others. Pastor Bob Gray Sr. preached this great Bible truth: “Let's Go Soul Warning!” I have many miseries in my life, but I am a happy person. I am happy knowing that my name is written in Heaven in the Lamb's Book of Life. Philippians 4:3, “And I intreat thee also, true yokefellow, help those women which laboured with me in the gospel, with Clement also, and with other my fellowlabourers, whose names are in the book of life.” Is your name in the Book of Life friend? I know that mind is. You can know right now, if you don't know.
Dear reader, I encourage you on the authority of the Scriptures to pray without ceasing. By “authority of the Scriptures” I simply mean that what I am teaching agrees with God's Word (Romans 3:4). If you are negative, a complainer and depressed, then I encourage you to turn off the television and start spending your time thinking about things that are true, pure, honest, lovely, full of praise, and of good report. A praying mind is a healthy mind. If you think wrong, you'll live wrong. If you start thinking right, you'll live right.
“I believe any man in this world, can love any other man in this world, if he thinks right! The reason you hate is because you think hate. The reason you love is because you think love.” —Pastor Jack Hyles, “What The Law Could Not Do”
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