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Worry & Anxiety

Philippians 4:6 (KJV)
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Personal thoughts & comments on Philippians 4:6, are that the basic idea seems to be that Paul is saying that there is no need to worry or fret over circumstances; instead let God handle those things that we are concerned about, by praying to Him about them, and giving earnest thanks to Him for what we have.

The things that we have, are not necessarily limited to just temporal possessions and life situations. We should give God thanks for His love for us. We should always thank Him for giving into the believer the Holy Spirit to guide us. Above all thank God for His grace and mercy bestowed upon us, by giving His only Son, Jesus Christ, who has redeemed us of our sins. Some further explanation and insight of Philippians 4:6 by Rick Renner, author of “Sparkling Gems”.

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.

One of the words from Philippians 4:6 that Renner explains is the word “careful“. When we see the word “careful” we usually tend to use it in the sense of being cautions or mindful. See the following definition(s) of how the word “careful” is used in modern day English, plus the “Archaic” context of the word. The fifth definition (5 a. and 5 b.) as we will find out is closer to what the Greek meant in their use of the word “careful”, concerning Philippians 4:6.

care~ful-adjective

1. cautious in one’s actions: Be careful when you cross the street.
2. taking pains in one’s work; exact; thorough: a careful typist.
3. of things) done or performed with accuracy or caution: careful research.
4. solicitously mindful (usually fol. by of, about, or in): careful of the rights of others; careful about one’s behavior; careful in speech.

Archaic. a. troubled b. attended with anxiety

The word “careful” comes from the Greek word MERIMNAO, which means: 1. to be troubled 2. to be anxious (worry) 3. to be fretful 4. to be worried about something The Greek used the word MERIMNAO (careful) during New Testament times primarily in conjunction with the following situations: 1. worry about finances 2. worry about hunger 3. worry about basic provisions of life Some examples of worrying that plagued the Greek:

• worry about paying bills
• worry about tax collectors
• worrying about having enough money to buy food or to purchase clothing for one’s family

MERIMNAO is also the same word used by the Greek for the modern day word “thought”.

In Matthew 6:25, Jesus said: “Therefore I say unto you, take no thought for your life, what ye shall eat, or what ye shall drink”

Another modern day word that comes from the Greek word MERIMNAO is “care”. An example of it’s usage is given in Mathew 13:22.

Matthew 13:22 (KJV)
22 He also that received seed among the thorns is he that heareth the word; and the care of this world, and the deceitfulness of riches, choke the word, and he becometh unfruitful.

Matthew 13:22 (NIV)
22 The one who received the seed that fell among the thorns is the man who hears the word, but the worries of this life and the deceitfulness of wealth choke it, making it unfruitful.

In Matthew 13:22, MERIMNAO (care) is referring to material worries and concerns. Another significant word from Matthew 13:22 is the word “choke“. The word “choke” comes from the Greek word SUMPNIGO, which means:

• to suffocate
• to smother
• to asphyxiate
• to choke
• to throttle

On a slight detour of studying the word “careful” from Philippians 4:6, I’d like to take just a moment to briefly give the definitions of the words “supplication” used in the KJV and the word “petition” as used in the NIV, since as I feel, they were key words of the scripture as well. Supplication (sup~pli~ca~tion -noun)

• an act or instance of supplicating
• humble prayer, entreaty, or petition

Petition which comes from the Greek word Aitema means to:

• petition
• request
• required

To summarize, Paul’s point was that the act of worrying can become so consuming in a person’s mind that it will literally choke the person until their life is at a standstill.

To God, be the glory.

Five Important Steps to Move From Fear to Faith, From Turmoil to Peace and From Defeat to Victory

The following is a study of scripture from the Holy Bible, along with personal comments and ideas as well as the insights of Rick Renner from the book: Sparkling Gems from the Greek: 365 Greek Word Studies for Every Day of the Year to Sharpen Your Understanding of God’s Word.

Philippians 4:6 (KJV)
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Philippians 4:6 (NIV)
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

This is a follow up to earlier thoughts and ideas of understanding regarding Phillippians 4:6. In the past, I know that I have been guilty of “praying” to God, asking for something, but not truly having any faith and knowledge (belief) in that, what I had asked for in prayer, would be done.

Now, I’m not talking about praying to God, asking him to smote your former significant other, because you all have had a disagreement. Praying to God for a worldly desire such as asking for a revelation on the winning numbers to the lottery, isn’t what I’m talking about either. I’m talking about asking God to let his Holy Spirit fill your heart in a way that helps you overcome things in your life that are spiritually damaging. I’m referring to things like asking Jesus to transform you into a more patient parent, or asking Jesus to help you become a more grace giving friend, or more committed to spending time with him to improve your relationship. I’m talking about asking God for selfless desires not selfish ones.

Some further explanation and insight by Rick Renner, author of “Sparkling Gems”.

Phillippians 4:6 (KJV)
Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.

Renner points out 5 key words from Philippians 4:6, that will move you from being fearful (merimnao ie, careful) to faithful, from a life filled with
turmoil to one of peace (harmony with God and each other), and from being defeated (a lack of faith or having weak faith), to being victorious.

Victory as evidenced by your Christian walk, an outward display and confession of your faith in Christ to the world.

The five key words (STEPS) from Philippians 4:6 are :

• PRAYER
• SUPPLICATION (the word “petition” is used in the New International Version [NIV] Study Bible)
• THANKSGIVING
• REQUEST
• KNOWN

PRAYER
We have and use prayer as a way to communicate to God. As in any relationship, it the relationship is to grow, mature and maintain its stability, there must be communication. The word “prayer” comes from the Greek word proseuche, which means “toward”. Proseuche is a compound of the two Greek words pros and euche.

Pros means toward and denotes a sense of closeness.

• Close
• Up-front
• Intimate contact with someone

The word “with” is also taken from the Greek word pros, other definitions of pros as taken from the Greek Lexicon:

• to the advantage of
• at, near, by
• to, towards, with, with regard to

A scriptural example; John 1:1 “In the beginning was the Word, and the Word was with God, and the Word was God.”, EUCHE which is an old Greek word was normally used to depict a vow to God because of a need or desire. The idea behind the use of EUCHE is that one would pray to God, vowing to exchange something of great value to God, in exchange for favorable answers to prayers. Below are examples of several meanings of EUCHE:

• desire
• wish
• prayer
• vow

As I believe, I understand the idea to this word EUCHE is that we give God our problems; and he will in turn and time, give us peace. This giving of peace is a result of having a close, intimate relationship with Christ. A relationship that has developed to the point where Christ is your everything, where you depend on him to comfort, guide, correct, because you know that doing anything without him leading you is a futile effort, often leading to fruitless consequences.

SUPPLICATION
The Greek word for supplication is DEISIS, which depicts a person who has some type of lack in his life and therefore pleads strongly for his lacking to be, met. Some different translations found in the KJV include:

• beseech
• to beg
• to earnestly appeal

DEISIS (supplication) is a prayer that is earnest, passionate, heartfelt and sincere. As Rick Renner describes “It comes to God on the most serious terms, strongly beseeching Him to move and to meet a specific need that the person praying is facing in his life.” An example of such a prayer as pointed out by Renner comes from James 5:16 (KJV) “16 Confess your faults one to another, and pray one for another, that ye may be healed. The effectual fervent prayer of a righteous man availeth much.”

THANKSGIVING
Thanksgiving is the third step mentioned by Paul in giving our worries and concerns over to God. Our Lord is always there for us. Jesus accepts us as we are. Jesus loves us unconditionally. It should be habit to thank our Lord, always, for being so good us in so many ways. The word “thanksgiving” comes from the Greek word EUCHARISTIA, which is a compound of the two words EU and CHARIS.

Eu means good or well
Charis means grace

EUCHARISTIA describes an outpouring of grace and of wonderful feelings that freely flow from the heart in response to someone or something. The thought concerning the use of the EUCHARISTIA (thanksgiving) in Philippians 4:6 is that when we earnestly ask God to do something for us, we need to respond with an equal and earnest outpouring of thanks to God. We should be just as passionate to God in being thankful as we are in asking of Him.

REQUEST
Our manner of requesting is the fourth of five steps “To Move From Fear to Faith, From Turmoil to Peace and From Defeat to Victory” that Paul mentions.

AITIMA is the Greek word for the word “request”. AITIMA is derived from another word; AITEO. AITEO means to be adamant in requesting and
demanding assistance to meet tangible needs, such as food, shelter, money, and so forth. In the New Testament, the word AITEO was used to portray a person who insists or demands that a specific need be met after approaching and speaking to his supervisor with respect and honor.

KNOWN
The final word in the five steps “To Move From Fear to Faith, From Turmoil to Peace and From Defeat to Victory” that Paul mentions.

The word “known” comes from the Greek word GNORIDZO, which means:

• to make a thing known; to declare something
• to broadcast something
• to make something very evident

Taking the Greek context of the 5 steps and applying them to Phillippians 4:6 we get the following from Paul:

Be troubled, anxious or worried (CAREFUL / merimnao) of nothing; but in every thing by having a close and intimate relationship (PRAYER /proseuche),earnestly appeal (SUPPLICATION or PETITION / deisis) with good grace (THANKSGIVING / eucharistia); and insist or demand that a specific need be met after approaching and speaking with respect and honor (REQUEST / aitima or aiteo) to God. Broadcast and make it very evident! (KNOWN / gnoridzo)

To God, be the glory.

By: Comedian Robin Williams

This is one of the best explanations of why God allows pain and suffering that I have seen. It’s an explanation other people will understand. A man went to a barbershop to have his hair cut and his beard trimmed. As the barber began to work, They talked about so many things and various subjects.

When they eventually touched on the subject of God, the barber said: “I don’t believe that God exists.“

“Why do you say that?” asked the customer.

“Well, you just have to go out in the street to realize that God doesn’t exist. Tell me, if God exists, would there be so many sick people? Would there be abandoned children? If God existed, there would be neither suffering nor pain. I can’t imagine loving a God who would allow all of these things.“, said the barber.

The customer thought for a moment, but didn’t respond because he didn’t want to start an argument. The barber finished his job and the customer left the shop.

Just after he left the barbershop, he saw a man in the street with long,stringy, dirty hair and an untrimmed beard. He looked dirty and un-kept.

The customer turned back and entered the barber shop again and he said to the barber: “You know what? Barbers do not exist.“

“How can you say that?” asked the surprised barber. “I am here, and I am a barber. And I just worked on you!”

“No!” the customer exclaimed. “Barbers don’t exist because if they did, there would be no people with dirty long hair and untrimmed beards, like that man outside.“

“Ah, but barbers DO exist!” replied the barber. He went on to say: “What happens is, people do not come to me.“

“Exactly!“- affirmed the customer. “That’s the point! God, too, DOES exist! What happens, is, people don’t go to Him and do not look for Him. That’s why there’s so much pain and suffering in the world.“

Do not ask the Lord to guide your footsteps if you’re not willing to move your feet.