"WHY PRAY WHEN YOU CAN WORRY?"

Written and preached by David P. Nolte



PHILIPPIANS 4:4-9

One elderly lady had come under hard times. She would have to sell her house and move into an assisted living residence. Her children had tried to help her understand the situation but she couldn't seem to grasp it. She was worried and fretful and upset. Her son said, "Mom, we've got everything under control. Now you just need to pray about it and leave things to the Lord." She gasped and said, "Oh, no! Has it come to that?" Her approach to life seems to have been, "Why Pray When You Can Worry?" The word "worry" comes from the Old English word meaning to "choke or strangle." That's what worry does to our peace, productivity and joy. It chokes and strangles them. Someone said, "Worry is the advance interest you pay on troubles that seldom come." George Muller said, "The beginning of anxiety is the end of faith. The beginning of true faith is the end of anxiety." The truth of his statement is illustrated in the account of a little girl who said to her father, "Daddy, you go on to the meetings. God will take care of us!" William Martin was an evangelist. He had agreed to a series of meetings that would take him from home. He was concerned about leaving, however, because his wife, Civilla, was ill and he hated leaving her. But by the cheerful attitude of his little girl his assurance revived. Something in the sweet faith of his little girl had lightened his heart and he went on with the evangelistic meeting rejoicing in his heart. The philosophy of this little girl reverses that of the old lady. Hers was, "Why Worry When You Can Pray?" Well, we can go the worry way or we can go another way. Paul sets an alternative before us in the text. How can we conquer worry? There are three things evident in this text:
  1. REJOICE: VV4-5:
    1. That's one of Paul's major themes. In every letter he wrote, except the letter to Titus, Paul mentioned joy in some way. You may ask, "Well, so what?" The thing that gives weight to that is that
      1. Five of his letters were written from prison and that last of his letters, 2 Timothy, was written in anticipation of his soon martyrdom.
      2. Paul's letters were written under the pressure, tension and animosity of those who set themselves against the gospel he preached.
    2. Yet he says "Rejoice!" The word for rejoice means: "to be calmly cheerful, to have a sense of well-being." The Bible way is the way of rejoicing. How can we rejoice always in the Lord? In this text what grounds are there for rejoicing?
      1. The first ground is an inner attitude of sweetness, gentleness and forbearance: this spirit enables us to face trouble with calm composure, confidence, and optimism instead of worry and fretting.
      2. The second ground is the nearness of the Lord:
        1. This may mean in point of place: He is near us wherever we are. He will never leave nor forsake us, and we can go nowhere that we are out of His presence. He is nearby to help and provide for us. Isaiah 41:10 "Do not fear, for I am with you; Do not anxiously look about you, for I am your God. I will strengthen you, surely I will help you, Surely I will uphold you with My righteous right hand."
        2. This may mean in point of time: It may have reference His coming which may be soon and near.
      3. The third ground is the peace of God which passes all understanding and which is given to us to guard our hearts and minds.
    3. So don't worry, rejoice! Consider the benefit of rejoicing:
      1. Rejoicing eliminates whining; rejoicing minimizes pouting; rejoicing displaces self-pity; rejoicing lessens pessimism;
      2. rejoicing increases hope; rejoicing glorifies God; rejoicing refreshes the spirit; rejoicing enhances our grit.
      3. Rejoicing is as much a choice as is murmuring; rejoicing is our decision as much as is complaining; rejoicing is our option as much as is moaning.
    4. So listen to Paul again, "Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice!" Philippians 4:4. So, rejoice!

William Martin went on his scheduled evangelistic meeting, encouraged by the depth of his little girl's faith, and assisted by his wife's insistence that he go. But though his heart was lightened by their positive attitudes, he still tarried long in prayer for his loved ones, especially for his wife in her illness. That's what Paul set before all of us. How can we overcome worry?

  1. REQUEST: VV6-7:
    1. Paul isn't saying anything profound or new here. He is iterating Jesus' teaching.
      1. Matthew 7:7 "Ask, and it shall be given to you; seek, and you shall find; knock, and it shall be opened to you."
      2. Matthew 6:11 "Give us this day our daily bread."
    2. Paul's phraseology carries the connotation of continuous, strong, urgent requesting. Our asking should be bold and strong and earnest and confident.
    3. The Bible says a lot about requesting:
      1. James said, "If you need wisdom - if you want to know what God wants you to do - ask Him, and He will gladly tell you. He will not resent your asking. But when you ask Him, be sure that you really expect Him to answer, for a doubtful mind is as unsettled as a wave of the sea that is driven and tossed by the wind. People like that should not expect to receive anything from the Lord." James 1:5-7 (NLT).
      2. And he said further, " ... the reason you don't have what you want is that you don't ask God for it. And even when you do ask, you don't get it because your whole motive is wrong - you want only what will give you pleasure." James 4:2-3 (NLT).
      3. The Psalmist noted that we need to be sure we've dealt with sin in our life. He said, "If I had not confessed the sin in my heart, my Lord would not have listened." Psalms 66:18 (NLT).
      4. Stay close to Jesus, because Jesus said in John 15:7, "If you abide in Me, and My words abide in you, ask whatever you wish, and it shall be done for you."
    4. If we pray in the right way, we can request with confidence! And to our requesting we ought to add our thanks because God deserves it and it ends worry to recount His providence! So, hear Paul once more: Philippians 4:6 "Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."

William lived by that. He was encouraged and uplifted by his daughter's words, "Daddy, you go on to the meetings. God will take care of us!" He prayed daily for his wife and then turned things over to the Lord. Instead of wasting time fretting, he praised; instead of wasting energy worrying, he prayed. He turned his eyes from the problem to the task at hand and refocused on the faithfulness of the Lord to bless. He did what Paul suggested. How can we defeat worry?

  1. REFOCUS: VV8-9:
    1. Paul means to refocus our attention on the positive things and away from the negative; to refocus our minds onto the beneficial and away from the menacing things; to refocus on the peaceful things and away from the worrisome, to refocus on the tranquil things and away from the fretful.
    2. Refocus upon those things that are true, honorable, right, pure, lovely, of good repute, excellent and worthy of praise! What are some of those things?
      1. Hope that is based on faith in Jesus Christ.
      2. Promises that are based on God's unchanging integrity and power.
      3. Peace that is based on God's presence and work in our lives.
      4. Assurance that is based on God's unfailing word.
      5. Things that last for eternity and are stored up in heaven for us based on God's dependability.
    3. We can think ourselves into a frenzy or into a calm; we can think ourselves into angst or into assurance; we can think our selves worried or at peace. So refocus on those thoughts that eliminate worry.
    4. Hear it again: Philippians 4:8 "Finally, brethren, whatever is true, whatever is honorable, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is of good repute, if there is any excellence and if anything worthy of praise, let your mind dwell on these things." We need often to refocus our minds on the noble.

William went on his evangelistic tour focused on doing God's work. When he phoned home, he learned that his wife was well and that the words of their little girl had so inspired her that she wrote them as a poem. Here are the very familiar words she wrote, words that ought to constitute our own confidence. "Be not dismayed, e'er betide, God will take care of you. Beneath His wings of love abide, God will take care of you. God will take care of you, through every day, o'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you. No matter what may be the test, God will take care of you; Lean, weary one, upon His breast, God will take care of you. God will take care of you, through every day, o'er all the way; He will take care of you, God will take care of you." That's true! So, why worry when you can pray? Worry is unreasonable: if you can't do anything about it, don't worry about it; if you can do something about it, don't worry about it! Worry is unhelpful: it doesn't work; worry never lifted a burden, solved a problem, or brightened a day. Worry won't control the future and makes us miserable today. Worry is unnecessary: God has given promises that ought to be trusted. God will take care of you! So, trust Him with every area of your life; He knows what you need before you ask and will provide what you need if you give Him priority in your affairs. Then, live one day at a time; don't crowd out today with worry about tomorrow. Nothing can ever happen to you that God can't handle, so face life with faith and surrender to His will. Live life with the assurance that "God will take care of us!" Then, trust and obey, there's no other way to be happy, fulfilled, and at peace.

"Stories Behind Popular Songs and Hymns" by Lindsay Terry


Return To Sermons On Prayer

Return To Archive

Return To Home Page