The Way Out

PRAYER

Purpose:  To inspire people to pray about everything so that they can trust God more.

Introduction:

The struggle of dealing with life can make a person make some really bad decisions to stop the struggle.Life can cause some anxiety, the lack of control over something.My anxiety can set in very quickly. I tend to feel so out of control.What do you do when you can’t do anything.When I go through a life situation, I seek the answer of peace from Jesus.
 Someone ask two artists to paint a picture of what they think peace is. The first artist drew a picture of a cloudless day, the sun shining bright, no bad weather at all, the trees looking very green and standing tall, everything looked perfect. He turned the picture around and said that is peace. He asked the second artist to give us a picture of peace. The artist drew a picture of a thunderstorm, strong blowing winds, the trees bending in the wind, black clouds and under a rock and siting on a rock, he drew a small bird. While the wind blew, and the storm raised, and the trees were blowing back and forth there was this little bird sitting on the rock. The rock was his support right in the midst of the storm.Peace is not the absence of a storm, its standing on our rock, Jesus in the midst of my storm.Prayer is the most powerful answer for peace.I give God my anxiety and he gives me a peace that passes all understanding.Philippians is a letter Paul writes to a church he knows very well. In 2 Corinthians he says They have supported his ministry financially, when no one else would.In chapter 1, Paul glorifies Jesus in his affliction.In chapter 2, Paul shows exhortation to be just like Christ.In chapter 3, Paul presses toward the mark for the prize of the high calling of God in Jesus Christ.In chapter 4, Paul rejoices in the Lord always, no matter what. He is in jail when he tells them to rejoice. Then he says let your joy always be known to everyone.

Scripture:Philippians 4:4-7

4 Rejoice in the Lord always: and again I say, Rejoice.
 5 Let your moderation be known unto all men. The Lord is at hand.
 6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
 7 And the peace of God, which passeth all understanding, shall keep your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.

Subject Sentence: The Way Out

Pray for Everything – vs.6 Be careful for nothing; but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known unto God.
 The word careful means anxiety. Don’t be captivated by your own anxiety. Anxiety happens when we are out of control.If you pray for everything, you will be anxious for nothing. If you pray for nothing, you will be anxious for everything. If you pray about somethings, you will be anxious for somethings. Pray, Pray, PrayThe lack of prayer will reveal a character flaw in scripture. We have to learn how to be out of control. 1 Peter 5:6-7; 6 Humble yourselves therefore under the mighty hand of God, that he may exalt you in due time: 7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.We quote this text for those that may be arrogant or full of themselves. But watch the text. This is during struggling times.How do I humble myself? Cast (Throw) all your care (anxiety) to God. When I do this, I admit to God that I’m out of control and he is in control. So, I give my care to God as a manifestation of my humility.When you pray and don’t give it to God, you show God you’re not humble.Give it to me and I will exalt&