Well, let us turn to God's Word
as we continue in these exhortations that we find at the beginning
of Philippians chapter 4. And we come tonight to familiar
words. It is a text that we've looked at on previous occasions.
It's a great text, an encouraging word, I'm sure. Paul writes here
then in Philippians 4.6, Be careful for nothing, but in everything
by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your request
be made known unto God. An exhortation to pray is what
is set before us. An exhortation to pray, we've
been looking at the previous exhortations that we have in this chapter. So last week,
looking at the words in verse 5, the exhortation to moderation,
let your moderation be known unto all men, the Lord is at
hand. And as we looked at that particular
verse, so to say something with regards to what the moderation
is, we can define it and we thought of it in terms of kindness, being
seemly, being gentle. as we try to define what it actually
means. It's a word that's difficult
to translate. I think I said that. Hendrickson
in his commentary makes that point. It is a difficult word.
There's no really adequate English word to use in the translation. But it has certainly that idea
of kindliness and gentleness. But having tried to define the
word, we also saw that there is a motivation. As is so often
the case with Gospel precepts, it's not just the bare commands,
but there's also the encouragement of the promise. And there's certainly
that there in verse 5. Let your moderation be known
unto all men, the Lord is at hand. And I said we can think
of that sentence in terms of the fact that the Lord is coming. and we're to live our lives in
the light the expectation of his coming again his return but
also of course the Lord is at hand I said in the sense that
he is there he is present to help us he helps us to obey the
commandments all our fruit really comes from him and we're to be
a fruitful people in the way of obedience but of course As we come to the following verse,
we can say that that sentence at the end of verse 5 would apply
equally well to what follows here in verse 6. The Lord is
at hand when we pray. He is near unto all them that
call upon him. And it's interesting, isn't it,
how time and again when we come to the practical part of these
epistles of the Apostle Paul he mentions the importance of
prayer and I read therefore that passage in the Ephesian epistle
because when he comes to the end there he speaks of the provision
that God has made that spiritual armor with which he clothes his
people for that good fight of faith And we think of the language
of the Old Hymn concerning what we have at the end of that section
that we read, verses 18, 19 and 20, speak very much of prayer.
And the Old Hymn says, each piece put on with prayer, each piece
of the armour. praying always with all prayer
and supplication in the spirit and watching there unto with
all perseverance and supplication for all sakes says Paul and then
he asks for himself in particular for me that utterance may be
given unto me that i may open my mouth boldly to make known
the mystery of the gospel for which I am an ambassador in Bonzard,
therein I may speak boldly as I ought to speak." He wants them
to pray for him then, he feels the need of their prayers and
so Paul does as I said make much of prayer in the lives of these
Christians gathered together in these various churches that
we find him addressing. Again in the first epistle to the Thessalonians,
at the end there he says, pray without ceasing, all continue,
earnest in prayers. And so, tonight we come to consider
the text that we have here in the epistle to the Philippians,
this sixth verse here in chapter 4, be careful for nothing, But
in everything, by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving,
let your requests be made known unto God. And I want to divide
what I'm going to say into three parts really. First of all, to
see that there is a caution, we might say. And then there's
the call to prayer, or the commandment to pray. And then finally, we'll
see, in consequence, he goes on to make mention of the promise. There is encouragement also then
to pray which is the normal pattern as I said just now with gospel
precepts. It's not just commandment but
promise also. Let's look first of all at the
opening words and this caution. He says be careful for nothing. Be careful for nothing. And we can look at that negatively
and positively. Sometimes it's useful to understand
what's not being said. That's the way, oftentimes, in
which Dr. Gill approaches the word in his
commentary. It's been sometimes indicating
what it doesn't mean, and then going on to say what it does
mean. And it is good sometimes to look at it, first of all,
in a negative fashion. Well, what doesn't this mean,
be careful for nothing? Well, it doesn't mean that we're to preclude any forethoughts,
that we're not to think about matters and consider matters.
In fact, the Scriptures really encourage us to great diligence.
You remember how in the book of Proverbs, the wise man Solomon
will time and again direct us to the ants, the language that
we have there in the sixth chapter of the book of Proverbs. In that section from verse six
he says, Go to the ants, thou sluggard, consider her ways,
and be wise, which having no guide, either seer or ruler,
provideth her meat in the summer and gathereth her food in the
harvest. How long wilt thou sleep, O sluggard? When wilt thou arise
out of thy sleep? Yet a little slumber, a little
folding of the hands to sleep. So shall thy poverty come as
one that travelleth, and thy want as an armed man. So we ought to give forethought,
we ought to seek to make that right, that proper provision
Again, later in Proverbs, he says concerning the ants, they
are a people not strong, yet they prepare their meat in the
summer. They give forth, or they're careful
then, in seeking to make proper provision. And the same apostle
who writes these words in verse 6, be careful for nothing, can
write and say to Timothy, There in that first epistle in chapter
5 and verse 8, if any provide not for his own, and especially
for his own house, he hath denied the faith, and is worse than
an infidel. We are to be careful in a certain
sense to make provision. Providing for honest things,
says Paul, not only in the sight of the Lord, but also in the
sight of men. this carefulness then can be
taken up we might say in a good sense and that's the way in which
we find the word being used previously here in what Paul says concerning Timothy
in chapter 2 and verses 19 and 20 he says I trust in the Lord
Jesus to send Timotheus shortly unto you that I also may be of
good comfort when I know your state, for I have no man like-minded
who will naturally care for your state." It's the same word really
that we have here, he will care for them, and yet here he's saying
that they're to be careful for nothing. The word clearly there
in chapter 2 is being used in a positive way. Timothy would
have a kindly concern for them, an interest in them. He will
care for them. But here, you see, when he uses
the word, he uses it somewhat differently. Anxious care is
what he's speaking of and that is to be avoided. Be careful
for nothing, don't be anxious. And that really brings us to
what he means. The word here, it has the idea
of the mind being torn, as it were, by things. The mind being
in a turmoil over matters, wracked with anxious cares. And the word
is also used by the Lord Jesus Christ himself in the Sermon
on the Mount. But it's interesting there, in
Matthew chapter 6, it's not used or it's not translated, I should
say, as careful, but as taking thought. In chapter 6 of Matthew,
you know the passage well, I'm sure, and he writes there at
verses 27 and 28, why take ye thought? Or why are ye careful? For Romans, consider the lilies
of the field, how they grow, they toil not, neither do they
spin, And yet I say that even Solomon in all his glory was
not arrayed like one of them. Again he's used the word in verse
27, which of you by taking thought, by being careful, can have one
cubit unto his stature. He uses it again in verse 31,
therefore take no thoughts. don't be careful saying what
shall we eat or what shall we drink or wherewithal shall we
be clothed for after all these things do the Gentiles seek for
your Heavenly Father knoweth that ye have need of all these
things we're not to become anxious about matters then we're not
to be troubled and agitated in our minds about these things
We are to look to the Lord, we are to live the life of faith.
The psalmist says of the believer, he shall not be afraid of evil
tidings, his heart is fixed, trusting in the Lord. We trust
in the Lord, casting all your care upon him, says Peter, because
he careth for you. We have to look to the Lord,
we have to trust in the Lord. That's all that he is saying
in this word at the beginning of the verse. Be careful for
nothing. How are you to cast your cares
upon the Lord? Well, he goes on then to speak
of prayer. But that's how he introduces
the call to prayer. But, he says, in everything,
by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your request
be made known unto the Lord. You live the life of faith by
continually crying unto the Lord, calling upon His name, casting
every care upon Him. And we have to remember here,
what he's saying is the life of faith is not a fatalistic
life. The believer isn't passive and
just shrugging his shoulders and trying to carry on. No, There's
no fatalism, but there's prayerfulness. And what do we see here? Well,
we have two things really. He speaks of the subjects for
our prayers. And it's everything. Every situation,
whatever might come into our lives under the sovereign hand
of God, we can commit these things unto the Lord. In everything,
he says, in everything, there is nothing too trifling. We can
bring the smallest of matters and lay them before the Lord.
Every hair of our head is numbered, said the Lord Jesus Christ. The
Father knows everything about us, every detail of our lives,
everything that comes into our path in His good providence.
What are the subjects then for our praying? Well, it's all inclusive,
it's everything. But then also here, whilst he speaks of it being
comprehensive, he does go on to speak of different types of
prayer. He goes on to speak of different
types of prayer. He doesn't cover every prayer
that we might make, but it's interesting to look at the vocabulary.
He speaks of prayer, and supplication, and requests, and thanksgiving. We know when we come to God in
prayer, our prayers in a sense are all speech. You remember
the words of Paul in Hebrews 4.16? there in Hebrews 4 and verse
16 he says let us therefore come boldly to the throne of grace
that we may obtain mercy and find grace to help in every time
of need and the words that are rendered coming boldly as I've
said previously it's really a single word it's a compound And it's
two words in a sense, it literally means boldly, coming boldly is
coming, it's all speech. There's a freeness, there's a
freeness as we come before God. Think of the words back in Hosea
14, take with you words and turn to the Lord and say take away
all iniquity and receive us graciously. He invites us to come and speak
to him quite freely. Now of course our prayers are
to be more than words but we can come to God in that familiar
fashion and speak to him quite freely because we have boldness
and access with confidence when we come by the faith of the Lord
Jesus Christ. Oh we have such an advocate with
the Father, Jesus Christ, the righteous, and He is the propitiation
for our sins. And He is one who knew what prayers
were. His whole life was a life of
prayers. When we think of the person of
the Lord Jesus Christ in His human nature, in the days of
His flesh He offered up prayer and supplication. with groanings,
and tears, and sighs unto the Father, and was heard with all,
in that he feared, he had the fear of God in his heart. And so he came before God, though
he were a son, yet learned the obedience, Paul says, by the
things that he suffered. And so, we have this rich vocabulary
of prayer in this particular verse. He speaks first of all
of prayer. in everything by prayer. And this is the word that is
generally used to describe what it means to come before God and
to order our course and to pray. Every type of prayer is included
here. But we can especially think of
set prayers. And we do have the record of
such prayers in Holy Scripture. We have what is really the Lord's
Prayer, not the pattern prayer, but what we sometimes call the
high priestly prayer of the Lord Jesus in the 17th chapter of
John. We see him, don't we, previously
principally in his prophetic office in chapters 14 and 15
and 16. We call them his valedictory
discourses, his final discourses, his teaching and preaching to
his own disciples. We see him then as a prophet,
but then he enters more particularly into his priestly office, and
we see him as a praying priest. Before, subsequently, in the
final chapters of John, we see him as a sacrificing priest.
But we have his prayer, a remarkable 17th chapter of John. It's a
set prayer of the Lord Jesus. We find something Simeon I suppose
has said prayer when we turn to the Old Testament and the
chapter like Daniel chapter 9 when Daniel understands through reading
the prophets Jeremiah that God's going to accompany 70 years in
the desolations of Jerusalem and there now he sets his face
there in chapter 9 and he prays. God's word is an incentive and
an encouragement. He understands the word of God
and he prays that God would now accomplish what he had promised. There are set prayers. But then
also here we have the word supplication. Prayer and supplication. That's an interesting word because It suggests those prayers that
are as it were pressed out of us. They proceed out of a sense of
real need. We receive some news and what
can we do? We feel we must immediately turn
to the Lord and cry to Him that we see it in the experience of
a man like Nehemiah. he was the king's copbearer there
in Nineveh and he receives news of the awful desolations in Jerusalem
and he is sad before the king and he has to explain to the
king the reason for his sadness which is a fearful thing to do
a man should never be in that state before the king but then
the king says on to Nehemiah for what does I make requests
That was the question that the king put to him. For what does our mate request?
And we're told, so I prayed to the God of heaven. First thing
he does, he doesn't answer the king immediately. Well, it's
an instantaneous prayer. Even in answering the king, he
is crying to his God. It's a prayer that's been pressed
out of him because of the situation that he finds himself in. And we see that sort of thing
really in the Lord Jesus Christ. I referred just now to that passage
in Hebrews 5 where we read of Christ's prayers, strong crying
and tears. And that's what we have in the
Garden of Gethsemane, being in an agony. He prayed more earnestly,
we're told, and his sweat was like drops of blood falling to
the ground. That's supplication. There's
such an earnestness and immediacy. It's not like said prayers. And we sometimes sing that hymn
of John Berry that has the lines, For thee my soul would cry and
send a laboring groan, For thee my heart would sigh and make
a pensive moan. Well that's supplication really.
Sighs and groanings that cannot be uttered. There's prayer, said
prayers, where we set ourselves to pray and there's a certain
orderliness in our praying, but there are occasions when the
praying is as if it were squeezed out of our souls. And then we
have also another type of prayer in requests. He goes on to say that at the
end, doesn't he? let your requests be made known
unto God." We can come then with specific matters that we want
to ask the Lord to do for us. But of course in all our coming
in that fashion we desire to come in a spirit of meekness
and submissiveness because all our praying is governed by that
petition that we have in the pattern prayer Thy will be done
in earth as it is in heaven. We pray in submission to God's
will ultimately because we know that what God's will is that
is the best for us. Prayer, supplication, request
and then he does also mention Thanksgiving and it's the word
Eucharistia. We get the English word Eucharist
from it. and some might refer to the Lord's Supper as the Eucharist
it's a thanksgiving in a way I know it's a service of remembrance
but it's a thanksgiving we are to come in that spirit of gratitude
then when we come before the Lord in the opening chapter of
Romans when Paul is speaking of those who know not God and
yet God has revealed himself God has revealed himself in his
works of creation and providence men are without excuse but Paul
writes those words that when they knew not God they worshipped
him not as God or they glorified him not as God neither were thankful
neither were thankful but became vain in their imaginations and
their foolish heart was darkened how important it is that we return
thanks to the Lord when He manifests His great goodness to us. And
when we come together, of course, for the service of worship, we
come, as we worship God, to return thanks to His name. The language of the psalmist
there in the 100th Psalm, enter into His gates with thanksgiving
and into His courts with praise. Be thankful unto Him and bless
His name. how important it is that we thank
the Lord when he hears our prayer and answers our prayer and you
know we have that remarkable incident don't we in the gospel
when those ten lepers come to the Lord Jesus and only one is thankful and
that one is Samaritan in Luke 17 I'll read the passage at verse
11 following we're told he came to pass as he went to Jerusalem
that he passed through the midst of Samaria and Galilee and as
he entered into a certain village they met him ten men that were
lepers which stood afar off and they lifted up their voices and
said Jesus master have mercy on us and when he saw them he
said unto them go show yourselves unto the priest and he counted
past it as they went they were cleansed and one of them when
he saw that he was healed turned back and with a loud voice glorified
God and fell on his face at his feet giving thanks and he was
a Samaritan and Jesus answering said were not ten cleansed? But where are the nine? There
are not found that returned to give glory to God save this stranger. And he said unto him, Arise,
go thy way, thy faith hath made thee whole. It's a remarkable
incident, but nine out of the ten failed to return thanks to
the Lord for his goodness. All we are to come then, surely
our prayers are to be an expression of the gratitude of our hearts
that our God is a prayer hearing and a prayer answering God and
this is what God himself has ordained prayer is his own ordinance
I will for yet be inquired of he says by the house of Israel
we're the spiritual Israel of God and he will have us come
to inquire of him we're not always to pray says Christ and not to
faint we pray and God hears but out there are these various parts
that make up our prayers I like this little sentence from Philpott,
he says, speaking of, I think he's preaching, I don't know,
I've written the sentence down, but I can't recall whether it's
a sermon that he was preaching on this text or not, but he says
this, the treble of thanksgiving, the tenor of prayer, and the
bass of supplication, all harmonize to make up the music of the saints. All of these in our part and
parcel our worship, the music of the saints. Also there is
this call, and it's very general, it covers everything really,
whatever situation we're in, in everything. And then the detail,
what prayers are to be made up of, these various parts of our
prayers. And then, there is really the encouragement, as I said
at the beginning, We can see the encouragement
in what precedes the verse. The Lord is at hand. He is not
a God afar off. He is present. We have the ear
of God. He hears our prayers. There's
encouragement in what goes before this, encouragement in what follows
in verse 7, and the peace of God. which passeth all understanding,
shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus," he says. There's the promise, you see.
And it concerns our hearts, and it concerns our minds, as we
pray, as we obey the exhortation of the Apostle, the precept of
the Gospel, the peace of God which passeth all understanding,
keeps the heart and the mind through the Lord Jesus Christ.
The heart, keep thy heart with all diligence, says the wise
man in the Proverbs. Keep thy heart with all diligence,
out of it are the issues of life. How important is our heart, and
we want a heart religion. We want a heart religion. And
we can think of the words of the Lord Jesus when he speaks
to the disciples. I referred just now to those
chapters in John, those discourses, valedictory discourses, beginning
in chapter 14. Let not your heart be troubled,
he says. That's how those discourses begin. Let not your heart be
troubled. Ye believe in God, believe also
in me. How do we keep our heart? Well,
we keep our hearts when we commit our way to the Lord. And it's
interesting, the word that he uses there, troubled, it has
the idea, you see, of being stirred up and agitated. Well, be careful
for nothing. No need for anxious thoughts.
Or we know what the way of the wicked. The wicked are like the
troubled sea, when he cannot rest, whose waters cast up mire
and dirt. No rest to the wicked. But there
is rest to the people of God. And we find that rest when we
come in prayer, casting our cares upon the Lord, trusting in the
Lord Jesus Christ. Then our hearts are stayed. But
then also there's the mind. Our God is aware of what we are. He is our Creator, of course.
He's the one who made us. and he speaks here also of the
mind keep your hearts and minds it says we are not to be anxious in our
mind what does he say previously you know the passage there in
the second chapter let this mind be in you which was also in Christ
Jesus all we have the mind of the Lord Jesus Christ What a
blessing to have that mind, to have the words of the Lord Jesus.
In a sense, I like to think that there in that 14th chapter of
John, he announces his text in the opening verse. Let not your
heart be troubled. You believe in God, believe also
in me. And then he goes on to speak
throughout the chapter. Then when we come towards the
end, verse 27, remember that legacy that he leaves. He says,
Peace I leave with you, my peace I give unto you. Not as the world
giveth, give I unto you. Let not your heart be troubled,
neither let it be afraid. It's as if he's repeating his
text. He's been preaching to them. He's announced the text
and then he repeats the text. Let not your heart be troubled.
neither let it be fright. Here is the encouragement then,
where we pray, where we truly come before the Lord and cast
our care upon Him. The peace of God, which passeth
understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. And remember, in many ways that
was Paul's prayer, wasn't it, for the church of the Ephesians. The end of chapter 3 there, in
that particular epistle, he turns from addressing them and prays
for them. Verse 14, for this cause, he
says, I bow my knees unto the Father of our Lord Jesus Christ.
And what is his prayer? What is his prayer? Well, he
says, verse 19, to know the love of Christ which passeth knowledge,
that ye might be filled with all the fullness of God. Now
unto him that is able to do exceeding abundantly above all that we
ask or think according to the power that worketh in us, unto
him be glory in the church by Christ Jesus throughout all ages,
world without end. And it's the same here really. The peace of God which passeth
understanding shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ
Jesus. And so Paul gives us the encouragement,
the exhortation. Be careful for nothing, but in
everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, let your requests
be made known unto God. Well, the Lord help us. One feels
one needs to address the subject matter to myself really. What do we know of real prayers?
Well, we have the privilege tonight, we gather together principally
for prayer. And the Lord help us, the brethren
speak in prayer and we can say our amends. And the Lord is in
our midst, two or three gathered together in his name, and the
promise, there am I in the midst. The Lord bless his word to us. Let us sing our second hymn. 882 to the tune Theodora, 511. Prayer was appointed to convey
the blessings God designs to give. Long as they live should
Christians pray, for only while they pray they live. The hymn
882, tune 511.