4 Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. 5 Let your reasonableness[d] be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; 6 do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. 7 And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
We know that the overriding theme of this letter is joy. The fact is that it did not come easily. In the immediate context, Paul began this chapter exhorting this church to "stand firm"; in other words, they were being shaken in their faith. Then he calls out come quarrelling members to behave themselves. In fact, in the opening chapter he refers to some of his own struggles and to some opposition they were facing. Joy can be a challenge when you are anxious about relationships. What makes this passage so popular and powerful is that Paul reminds us that prayer changes everything. When we come to God with a balance of crying our with our needs and our thanksgiving, we can have peace and joy. He then goes on to say that then we can think with balance, and not be overcome with anxiety. Thanksgiving is key in this process. Without it our prayers become complaint sessions without faith that they will be answered. With Thanksgiving comes hope that God will change things, beginning with us and how we face tough times.
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