Week Two: Taking Stock

Paul is writing from prison when he pens these words. He is not describing a life that has been arranged comfortably enough to make anxiety unnecessary. He is describing a practice that has carried him through every kind of circumstance — abundance and need, freedom and chains. 'In every thing,' he says. The practice does not require ideal conditions.

Be careful for nothing is the old English for be anxious about nothing. And the prescription is not simply to stop worrying by willpower, but to redirect anxiety into prayer — to bring everything to God by prayer and supplication and thanksgiving. The thanksgiving is the important and counterintuitive piece. Before the situation has changed, gratitude. Before the answer has come, thanks. Not because the circumstances deserve it, but because the God you are bringing your circumstances to is already worthy of it.

The result Paul promises is not that every prayer gets answered the way you hoped. The result is the peace of God, which passes understanding — which means it does not follow logically from your circumstances, which means it is not something you can manufacture through positive thinking. It is given. It guards. It exceeds the explanations you can offer for why you feel it.

As you close out this second week, take stock of your prayer life not to grade yourself but to get honest. Have you been praying? Have you been honest when you did? Have you found moments of actual connection, or has it felt mostly like obligation? Whatever your answer, bring it to God now. The practice of prayer includes the practice of praying about how prayer is going. He can receive all of it.