Thankful For The Ability to Request Through Prayer vv.4-7
Supplication- a certain kind of prayer that specifically ask for God’s supplying and provision. We don’t just pray to get our needs met, we pray so the giver gets the glory! 2 Chronicles 6:19 “For the eyes of the Lord run to and fro throughout the whole earth, to give strong support to those whose heart is blameless toward him…”
Tell Him what you want and need!
The outcome is peace in Jesus Christ! He has sovereignly rigged it for our good and His glory!
Listen to how rigged it is, Jesus says in Matthew 7:7 “Ask, and it will be given to you; seek, and you will find; knock, and it will be opened to you.”
James, His brother says in 4:2 “You desire and do not have, so you murder. You covet and cannot obtain, so you fight and quarrel. You do not have, because you do not ask.” How refreshing is that? Not the murder or quarreling part, but the ability to ask!
Prayer dials in the throne of grace and request a fresh supply of God’s unending Power! We cannot do Sunday School without the powerful presence of the Holy Spirit guiding our minds toward transformation. We cannot sing and refresh our spirit without the Sovereign awakening us to worship through Spirit and Truth. I cannot preach unless the King unleashes His fire for fuel. You can’t respond through salvation or transformation unless the Lord of lord’s blazes your heart and turns it to Him! We cannot do evangelism and missions until the Almighty ignites us with a white hot passion for His glory! We cannot be unified without the Holy Spirit humbling our flesh and drawing us together to be the body of Christ for the purpose of action.
It’s not possible without prayer! So let your request be made known to God. Peace will come!
Thankful For The Ability to Respond Through Practice vv.8-9
We count our blessings and we go to work!
Work through prayer! Let’s be practitioners of prayer!
Seven Ways to Put Prayer into Practice
- Pled for the lost to be saved
- Petition for families to be strengthened in Christ
- Pray for staff and deacons Acts 6:4 “But we will devote ourselves to prayer and to the ministry of the word.”, 2 Thess 3:1-2 “Finally, brothers, pray for us, that the word of the Lord may speed ahead and be honored, as happened among you, 2 and that we may be delivered from wicked and evil men. For not all have faith.”
- Pled for spiritual growth for yourself and others
- Petition for the proclamation of the gospel
- Pray for Unity within our church and the Bride of Christ
- Ask God to meet your needs
Thankful For His Abundant Provisions as a Result of Our Petitions vv.10-20
-Paul was encouraged by the gift and provisions he had received from the church at Philippi. God gives us the privilege to be His hands and feet! If God’s blessed you financially, be a good steward and bless others! He may want to use you to provide for someone’s needs!
Here are some key provision verses in this passage! Look at Phil 4:13 and 4:19
Psalm 145:15-16 “The eyes of all look to you, and you give them their food in due season. You open your hand; you satisfy the desire of every living thing.”