Week 3 Day 2

Phil. 4:4-7
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice! 5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near. 6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
 
In his book The World’s Last Night, the famed apologist and theologian C.S. Lewis wrote, “For prayer is request.  The essence of request, as distinct from compulsion, is that it may or may not be granted.”  That’s part of the problem we have with prayer isn’t it, sometimes our requests are granted and sometimes they aren’t.  What do we do when we pray and it seems like God doesn’t answer or He says no?
 
The answer to this question is related to who God is and who we are.  God is sovereign; that means He is in control.  We are not sovereign, omniscient, or omnipotent.  We can’t alter the future or change that state of things.  God is, all of those things.  Prayer leads us to a place of trust.  We present our requests to God and trust Him to do what is best. 
 
We ought not feel pressure to pray the right thing, but to pray and trust God to do the right thing.
 
Rejoice, not in you, but in God.  Don’t be anxious, what good will that do?  Pray, petition, give thanks, and allow God to give you peace.  What do you need to present to God today?  Do it, right now.  Trust in Him.