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Yet, Paul gives the ideal of our lives. This "no worry" ideal, given in Philippians 4.5-7, has a prescription for countering worry:
5Always be gentle with others. The Lord will soon be here. 6Don't worry about anything, but pray about everything. With thankful hearts offer up your prayers and requests to God. 7Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus, God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel.
The prescription includes the following points.
1) Pray about everything.
Do you pray about everything? Sometimes we pray about our pet concerns or interests. Sometimes we pray only when we get in a time of trouble. Everything is the topic of prayer. If something is of concern to you, the same is of concern to God. Do not think anything too small or too great for prayer.
2) Practice gratitude.
Fyodor Dostoevsky is one the greatest novelists of all time. He tells of an experience when he was aged twenty-seven and that was a turning point in his life.
Dostoevsky came from the privileged class of 19th century Russia, but he was committed to the liberation of the oppressed working class. He joined a revolutionary liberation group; he was arrested in 1849. Put in a maximum security prison, conditions were terrible. He slept on a hard straw bed in a small, damp room without much light. For eight months Dostoevsky and his fellow prisoners were questioned and remained in jail.
In October the prisoners were removed and led to waiting carriages. They were not sure of their fate, but they assumed the sentence would be light. When the carriages stopped, they were led onto a square and lined up on a gallows. The men were sentenced to be shot; they were given a cross to kiss, the chance to confess to a priest, and, afterward, were dressed in peasant shirts and hoods for execution. The first three men in line were led to some stakes and tied; the soldiers took aim and held their positions. Then, a drum roll was heard, and a messenger from the Tsar rode in on a horse. He had a pardon for Dostoevsky and his fellow prisoners. They were taken back to the prison, with the intention that they be sent to prison in Siberia.
In a letter to his brother Mikhail, Dostoevsky describes his new outlook on life. "When I look back on my past and think how much time I wasted on nothing, how much time has been lost in futilities, errors, laziness, incapacity to live; how little I appreciated it, how many times I sinned against my heart and soul ~ then my heart bleeds. Life is a gift, life is happiness, every minute can be an eternity of happiness."
Thanksgiving nurtures and shows "thankful hearts." Our problems may remain for a time, and some may never leave in this life, but thanksgiving is an unselfish affirmation that life in itself is a gift and worth our appreciation. Regardless of the worry of the present time, we need to practice gratitude daily, and maybe more so when we do not feel grateful. Gratitude gives us, at least, some relief; lack of gratitude gives us nothing.
3) Pray with requests.
Prayer is our link to become conscious of God and affirm God's Presence and help. Often prayer serves to make clear our union with the Divine Presence. The prayer can include any way of prayer from talking to God to quiet contemplation.
"Requests" speaks of particular mention of what we want or see as a need. Our asking is one act with God answering. We are to cooperate in the manifestation of God's will in our lives. We do this not only by acting in the world but, also, by praying in our quiet alone.
What is the natural result of this prescription that counters worry?
Then, because you belong to Christ Jesus [or, are in oneness with Christ Jesus], God will bless you with peace that no one can completely understand. And this peace will control the way you think and feel [will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus (ESV)].
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