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#7) Philippians 4:6
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication
with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God."
Prayer
Just as breathing is necessary to sustain our physical lives, we must
sustain our spiritual lives by inhaling Bible doctrine and exhaling
prayers to God. We have access to God through Jesus Christ
(Ephesians 2:18), the Spirit intercedes for us (Romans 8:26), and we
are expected to draw near to the throne of God (Hebrews
4:16).
As God sustains our spiritual lives through Bible study and prayer, we
have no reason to be anxious about anything. Paul wrote these
words while he was in prison. If Paul was able to rid himself
of anxiety, it should be even easier for us.
Supplication is the part of prayer where we simply let requests be made
known unto God. Although he is omniscient, we should be
specific in telling God about our needs (James 5:13-14).
Thanksgiving is as essential as supplication. We need to
thank God for previous answers to prayer, as well as the unsolicited
blessings of grace, which he showers upon us even when we are
neglectful in our prayer lives (1 Timothy 2:1-2, Colossians
4:2).
Confession is another critical aspect of prayer. When we
pray, we should confess our sins to God (1 John 1:9). Although we have
eternal forgiveness for all sins through the cross, God also grants us
temporal forgiveness when we confess our sins.
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