For What Should We Pray?

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For What Should We Pray?

Be careful for nothing; but in every thing by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God. And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:6-7)

For what should we pray? Health? Food? Safety? Money to pay our debts? Friends to encourage us? Understanding? Direction? We should certainly ask God for what we lack. But remember that God has required many believers to go without these important benefits. He allowed Job to lose all of these things (Job 1). God has in the past required saints to undergo times of tremendous pain and loss (Hebrews 11:36-38).

But there IS one thing that God will ALWAYS provide to those who ask: His peace!

God may not choose to grant us health, food, or safety. We may lack money. Friends may disappoint and we often will lack understanding and direction despite our heartfelt prayer. Yet God will NEVER allow us to live without His peace. We need daily to ask God to provide what we lack, but we should always end our prayers by asking God to give us the one thing that is absolutely necessary...the one thing that He promises to all who ask...the one thing that will carry us through every loss...His peace, that which goes beyond understanding.

Remember: we don’t need answers...we don’t need to understand the situation...we don’t even need to know the next step...we just need His peace. We need to rest, believing that God is in control and that He will do what is best for us.

But my God shall supply all your need according to his riches in glory by Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

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