"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God." (Philippians 4:6 NKJV)
The word careful means cautious, wary, guarded, suspicious, distrustful, watchful, concerned, and anxious. Let’s look at the meaning of each one of these words.
Cautious: watchful, taking care
Wary: suspicious, watching out with distrust
Guarded: safeguarded, shielded
Suspicious: doubtful, mistrustful
Distrustful: suspicious, disbelieving, doubtful
Watchful: alert, observant, looking out
Concerned: worried, troubled, anxious
Anxious: concerned, fretful, uneasy, apprehensive, nervousness, worried, disquieted
While looking over these words and definitions we can understand that the word careful means to be drawn in different directions, distracted, disturbed, and troubled in spirit. When you say to someone, "be careful" in essence you are saying, "look around, look this way and that way, back-and-forth, do not be at ease, etc."
As I was reading one day, I found out that there is a South American tribe that applies a poison named Anxiety to the tip of their arrows. This poison works by constricting the muscles of the body until the victim suffocates. Isn't this how we feel when we are anxious? We feel squeezed and pulled, and many times our muscles tighten.
God’s word tells us, "be anxious for nothing."
God’s word tells us, "be anxious for nothing" and "by everything with prayer and supplication, let your request be made known unto God." God does not want us to be anxious or worried about anything. Instead, He wants us to talk with Him about everything—whatever is going on in our life. Talking to God is communicating with God. We communicate with God through prayer. There is a Latin word for prayer that essentially means to open the mouth, take in oxygen, and speak. Prayer is the spiritual oxygen combating the struggling affect of anxiety. Prayer is crucial.
Be encouraged! Do not be anxious or careful (full of care). Take a deep breath, breathe (pray and praise), and rejoice in the Lord, for there is always hope with Jesus!
Declare The Word:
God, I know You do not want me to worry. You do not want me to be anxious about anything. You give me a way out from being anxious. You tell me to pray and bring all of my thoughts and feelings to You. In prayer with thanksgiving I come to You to do this. With Your help I can do this. And with Your help I do this: I tell and give You every care and thought that is bothering me. Only You can work things out and only You give lasting peace. I thank You for Your peace, and for calming my spirit. I thank You for always being with me. I don't have to worry, but I receive Your peace. Amen!
Go Deeper:
Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. 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.
-Philippians 4:6-7 NLT
So don’t worry about these things, saying, ‘What will we eat? What will we drink? What will we wear?’ These things dominate the thoughts of unbelievers, but your heavenly Father already knows all your needs.
-Matthew 6:31-32 NLT
Give all your worries to him, because he cares for you.
-1 Peter 5:7 ICB
Cast your burden on the Lord [releasing the weight of it] and He will sustain you; He will never allow the [consistently] righteous to be moved (made to slip, fall, or fail).
-Psalm 55:22 AMPC
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
-Philippians 4:6 NIV
Trust in him at all times, you people; pour out your hearts to him, for God is our refuge.
-Psalm 62:8 NIV
