Peace in the Midst of a Storm Bible Study
Enjoy a daily dose of God’s Word! Visit Verse of the Day.
by Jean Bradley
Philippians 4:6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, 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. (NIV)
These are beautiful verses that calm our hearts in times of trouble. The Lord gives us specific instructions and guidelines, through the Apostle Paul, as to what to do. In other words, He is saying that we should not allow the storm to panic us in any way, even though our natural mind wants to fear. He is telling us directly to not be anxious for anything. He is telling us that we can trust Him, no matter what is coming against us. Our Heavenly Father is bigger than any storm and He can change any situation.
Then He tells us what to do. We need to come to Him in prayer, to seek Him and tell Him about the problem we face (even though He already knows about it), and to bring the entire situation to Him, seeking an answer or a solution from our Father.
The verse says prayer and petition. So, what is meant by petition? It is reminding God about the promises He has given us, reminding Him what the Word says. For example: if we are short of cash to pay our bills, then in Philippians 4:19, just further down in the same chapter, it says: And my God will meet all your needs according to His glorious riches in Christ Jesus (NIV).
Wow!! Our answer is right there! God is saying that He will meet all our needs according to His riches in Christ Jesus! Do you believe that? I believe it! And even though it is a struggle sometimes to stand and believe because of all that we see and hear in the natural, let us make that decision today, that we will believe what God says to us in His Word.
Thanksgiving is the Key
As we read further into verse 6, it says: with thanksgiving. I believe that this is an important key, because when we are thankful, maybe remembering all the other times that God came through for us, then we already believe in our hearts that God will come through for us this time as well. Being thankful is an attitude and a mind-set that shows that we know who our God is and therefore we know He is faithful to keep His word!
In conclusion, verse 6 says that we should bring our requests to God. He is telling us to ask Him for what we need. James 4:2 says that we don’t have because we don’t ask, so God is specifically telling us to ask Him.
After having done all that verse 6 tells us, with a thankful heart, we see the result in verse 7. We have come before our Father in prayer and petition and asked Him to answer our request and we have given it into His hands. Verse 7 tells us that the Lord fills our heart and mind with His peace. Hallelujah!!
This peace cannot be understood with the natural mind because in the natural it doesn’t make sense. It is supernatural and it is such a wonderful thing to have great peace in the midst of the storm, like Jesus did when He was sleeping in the boat in the middle of a huge storm (Luke 8:23). Worldly people and unbelievers expect to see panic, stress and breakdowns in the midst of a storm, but as God’s children we are not supposed to look like the world. This peace is a gift from our Father that protects us, guards our heart and mind (from runaway thoughts) and a knowing that our ever-loving Father is holding us and that everything will be alright!! Thank You, Jesus!!
Let us pray together:
Featured Sermons
