Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.
St. Feofan the Recluse
Do not worry about anything, but in everything, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.
Don't worry about anything. Saint Chrysostom, combining this instruction with the previous one: The Lord is near, - when thinking about the sorrows endured by the believers in Philippi, this brings comfort to them from the words of the Apostle: “ The Lord is near. Don't worry about anything. For tell me, why are you discouraged? Is it because they rebel against you? Don't worry about anything. The judgment has already arrived: soon they will give an answer to their deeds. May you be in sorrow: it will end soon. Let them deceive and threaten: but even this will not be tolerated for long; the judgment is already near, the time of retribution has already come, when everything will be the opposite. Don't worry about anything».
But you can see in these words a lesson - not only in sorrows, but in all circumstances of your life - to cast all your sorrow on the Lord, as He cares for us. The Apostle inspires complete devotion to the will of God and cuts off the destructive over-concern that usually so torments the soul and takes away all peace from the heart. He offers here the same thing that the Lord said when he said: don’t worry about your soul and body... don’t worry about the morning(cf. Matthew 6:25). For there is a Heavenly Father, as here in the Apostle: The Lord is near.
This does not encourage inaction, but cuts off evil care, which adds nothing to business and success in them, but only torments the soul and sharpens the heart. It was precisely this passion that the Savior denounced when he said that just as you cannot increase your age with care, you cannot increase your prosperity in business. Work - work; and what will come out of the labor, commit it to the Lord to determine and accept what he gives. For even though you work, the Lord gives you the fruit of your labor. Cast all your sorrow upon Him. - And again because He is near.
Having accepted this thought, we will have complete guidance in the words of the Apostle on how to achieve a peaceful disposition of the heart and secure success in spiritual life. He has already cut off, as they saw, lust by reproaching carnivores, anger by the commandment of meekness, and now he cuts off evil care, animated by covetousness. Whoever cuts off these three things has cut off all bonds and entered the realm of spiritual freedom. And in whom they still have a determining force, no matter in what small degree They did not possess it, they still do not know what freedom is in the Lord (see: Saint Isaac the Syrian. Ascetic Words, word 90).
Having surrendered in everything to the will of the Lord, Who is near, take on a cheerful and attentive thought to the Lord. The Lord is near. Enter this truth with your consciousness. When you enter, thinking about the greatness of what is nearby, can you help but be in awe? And, thinking that He is the Father of generosity, can you help but pray? The Apostle now leads us into prayer. But in all things, through prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God.. The Lord is near; leave your worries behind and tell Him what you need. These are the conditions for success in prayer!
First - pray in everything, that is, in any case, for any need, need, both external and internal, and spiritual, and everyday. Don’t think - you can manage one thing yourself, and ask the Lord for another. This is double-mindedness, a distinctive disorder of the spirit. Everything is from the Lord, both big and small. In everything, resort to Him; accept everything as if it were from His hand, even if you yourself have worked. This is the essence of devotion to God, and this is also the first condition for success in prayer.
Second - pray prayer and supplication, that is, from the depths of your soul, and not with the tip of your tongue, pronounce the prayer word. Whatever you pray for, you must have a feeling of need and the consciousness that you can only receive it from the Lord. If everything is from the Lord, then you should set yourself up this way regarding everything. Prayer will always be with a feeling from the depths of the soul. The basis here is faith and hope.
Third - pray with thanksgiving. Saint Basil the Great advises beginning every prayer with thanksgiving. Give thanks for what you have received; then ask for a new one. Saint Chrysostom says: “The Apostle desires that in prayers we not only ask, but also give thanks for what we have. For how can one ask for the future who does not know how to give thanks for the past? This is how one should give thanks for everything, even for what seems regrettable. For this is the property of a truly noble (person). The first (thanksgiving for everything we have) is required by the very essence of things; and the last (thanksgiving for the sorrowful) comes from a well-ordered soul and completely devoted to God.”
Fourth - pray saying his own petitions. If you feel a need, you believe and trust that you can only receive it from the Lord - tell Him this as you know and as you can. Many red words are not required. Speak how you feel, speak in your own words. Saying a prayer proves your faith that the Lord is near and listening. Let it be said, γνωριζεσυω, - Let it be brought to the attention of God. Let God know your needs.
Fifth - pray, - before God saying your petitions. If you realize that there is a God, then when you pray before God, you will not dare to make a petition about something that you know is displeasing to God. Pray for objects worthy of God. “Such prayers are pleasing to God, but He does not listen to others. Therefore, pray for what pleases Him” (St. Chrysostom). Or before God means: with an undistracted thought, reverently, realizing that you are conveying your petitions before God and into God’s ears.
The Epistle of St. Apostle Paul to the Philippians, interpreted by St. Theophan.
Sschmch. Onuphry (Gagalyuk)
Art. 6-7 Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God, and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus
The life of a Christian is extremely difficult and dangerous. Trouble from all sides: from obvious enemies and secret ones. How to protect yourself from temptations, how to protect yourself from mistakes? On the one hand, our frivolity: we ourselves rush into the arms of sin, or easily look at the warnings, or we ourselves do not understand how cruel sin is in its results. On the other hand, our human limitations: with good intentions, we often make irreparable mistakes, since we cannot foresee all the circumstances. Therefore, in all cases, we need to mainly pray to God and open all our thoughts and deeds to Him, ask for blessings and help, for only the Lord can protect us from mistakes and keep us on the right path.). We must seek help first of all from God, turn to Him with prayer, in a prayerful mood (προσευχή) and with various kinds of petitions, in the awareness of the need that we feel at the moment (δεήσεις). But we must combine our requests to God with an expression of gratitude for the blessings we have already received from God.
Explanatory Bible.
Do not worry about anything, but always in prayer
and open your petitions with thanksgiving
desires before God, and the peace of God, which is above
every mind, will guard your hearts and minds
yours in Christ Jesus.
Phil. 4:6–7
Cast away all your sins,
which you have sinned, and create for yourselves something new.
heart and new spirit...
Ezek. 18:31
Like a destroyed city, without walls, so is a man,
not in control of his spirit.
Proverbs 25:28
If I have the gift of prophecy and know all mysteries,
and I have all knowledge and all faith, so that I can
and move mountains, but do not have love, then I am nothing.
1 Cor. 13:2
Enter His gates with praise, into the courts
His - with praise. Praise Him, bless His name.
Ps. 99:4
Chapter 21 His marriage
Before I got married, I was afraid more than anything in the world that my future husband turns out to be a sports fan. The thought that I would have to live my whole life with a man who spent all day lying on the couch with a remote control in his hand, staring at the TV while football, or baseball, or basketball games were broadcast, scared me and disgusted me. What attracted me to Michael at first, when we first started dating, was his complete indifference to sports. It seemed that this topic did not interest him at all and even bored him. You can imagine my state when, a few years after the wedding, he suddenly turned into a real sports fan. If the Chicago Bears lost, the whole family had to mourn with him, and if the Cubs won, he deafened us with his crazy screams of delight. He was not content with periodically attending matches - he had to see every game. He wasn't a passive fan—he wore Bears T-shirts and a Cubs hat and was torn between the two. I tried to go to matches with him, but it turned out that I was much less interested in them than in hot dogs, and watching sports TV shows together turned into real torture for me. My whole being resented the fact that my husband preferred sports competitions to family time.
Change began only a few years later when I began to pray for our marriage. For some reason unseen to me, God did not completely take away Michael's interest in sports, which I asked for, but instead He brought peace to my soul and changed my attitude towards the problem. God taught us to compromise: I don’t force Michael to stop watching sports programs and matches, and he doesn’t demand that I pretend to be interested in something that doesn’t interest me at all; I don’t blame him for his tactical cunning - for keeping silent about his hobby before the wedding, and in return he doesn’t blame me for anything. All of this may seem unimportant to a marital relationship, but in fact, these things largely determine the future of your marriage - whether it will survive or fall apart.
As we pray about all areas of our life together, we completely rule out divorce as a means of solving our problems, so we should not neglect important aspects our marriage, even if they don't seem that way to us and we don't see their direct impact on our lives. From the first day of our marriage, I prayed that divorce and infidelity would have no place in our marriage. The fact is that, although nothing like this has ever happened in the history of our family, our culture is thoroughly saturated with the ideas of divorce and adultery, and in some circles this is generally considered normal. I prayed that God would preserve our union from such troubles, and He, being faithful, answered my prayers.
A marriage will be strong only when two people promise each other to preserve and protect their relationship no matter what. However, it often happens that the future spouse idealizes his partner and misunderstands the essence of marriage, as a result of which the collision with reality can be especially cruel. It is during such periods that the marital “kingdom” can become divided against itself. You need to constantly pray that any of your misconceptions in relation to each other will be revealed, so that all the “sharp corners” in your life together will be smoothed out, and together you can strengthen in the spirit of unity, harmony and mutual understanding. Pray that your marriage will be a union of two people united in the name of God, for then the Lord will be “in your midst” (see: Matt. 18:19–20). Pray that none of you will use the experience of your past marriage (if any) in your life together, that all ties with the past, good or bad, mental or spiritual, will be severed. It is impossible to move forward into the future while continuing to stand with one foot in the past.
Do not delude yourself about your marriage, no matter how wonderful it may seem to you, for it is said: “...let anyone who thinks he stands take heed lest he fall” (see: 1 Cor. 10:12). Ask for protection of your marriage from people and circumstances that threaten to destroy it. Ask the Lord to save your marriage by any means necessary, even if it means striking with lightning whoever decides to divorce. Pray that God will make your marriage a source of joy and life for both of you, so that it does not turn into a tedious and difficult task.
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So, do it! We have nothing against observing the second part of this verse - the part that talks about prayer. But if you practice the second part of the verse, forgetting the first, then you are not practicing the Word and you are not a doer of the Word.
The Amplified translation of Philippians 4:6 begins, “Do not worry or be anxious about anything...” First, we are told not to worry. If you are worried and worried, then turning to God will not bring any benefit. This kind of prayer does not work. Over-anxious prayer, full of worry, does not work.
One day I felt very sorry for a minister who came to me several years ago. His life was full of trials and storms. In addition, he had an upset stomach and could not sleep. His nerves were on edge because of one incident that happened to him.
He came to me for help. I began to tell him what the Word said and how he could pray about the circumstances. When I advised him to take this scripture and do what it instructs, he resisted: “But not everyone has the same faith as you.” I explained to him that it is not about having a lot of faith, it is about putting the Word into practice. I explained to him that if he began to put the Word into practice, his faith would be built up. I told him how I had put this particular verse into practice. When I was alone, I would read this verse out loud and tell the Lord that His Word was the truth and that I believed it. I told this minister that he would be tempted to think that he could not help but care and worry. But God does not invite us to do anything that we cannot do. God said not to worry, and that means we can keep ourselves from worrying and worrying. God is a just God, and He will not demand that we do what we cannot do.
When I first began to put this verse into practice, it was easy to believe that I could reveal my desires to God, but it was hard to believe that I could not worry. However, since God says we shouldn't worry, I will say, "I refuse to worry. I refuse to be worried."
I tell the Lord that I bring my petitions to Him. Then I thank Him for the answer. This calms my spirit, which the devil wants to disturb, and calms my restless mind.
After that I go about my business. However, the devil is trying to make me worry again. In that case, I just go back and read that verse again and proclaim it.
The minister I am talking about began to put Philippians 4:6 into practice. He later shared with me that the problem had been resolved and that it was not as severe as he expected. He had to go through a trial for one case, but God helped him get out of this trial.
Often, people's nervous diseases are not caused by a physical disorder. nervous system, but with such emotions as hopelessness, disappointment, resentment, anxiety, fear, defeat, despair.
People worry about every little thing, thinking about many things at the same time, including those beyond their control, such as unstable weather conditions or a worldwide invasion of cockroaches. Why do we worry about what we have no control over?
Chronic anxiety in many cases leads to insomnia, fatigue, and irritability. Clarity of thought disappears and helplessness in solving one's own problems increases. There is also low self-esteem and a habitual desire to suppress one’s feelings, especially joyful ones.
Signs of stress due to worry include:
Memory lapses
Feeling of unexpected heartbeat
You suddenly started waking up an hour or two earlier,
Frequent headaches
Anxiety that takes over for no reason
The appearance of pain in the spine,
The appearance of difficulties with digestion,
Sometimes there is a feeling of suffocation,
You force yourself to work only at the end of the day.
Pay attention to this! If you experience all the signs at the same time, you are at risk of neurosis.
Neurasthenia is a discrepancy between a person’s desires and what he has in reality (work, salary, family).
Obsessive-compulsive neurosis is a discrepancy between moral and ethical ideas about life and demands on oneself with what one can achieve in life. Hysterical neurosis is a discrepancy between a person’s claims to the attention of others and their real attitude towards him.
Plato said that “the biggest mistake of doctors is that they try to treat a person’s body without trying to cure his soul. However, the soul and body are one and cannot be treated separately!”
And the solution is not at all to find a safe means of relaxation, but to... not strain.
Putting the horse before the cart
I think that everyone understands that peace and spiritual harmony are determined not by the absence of problems, but by our attitude towards pleasant and unpleasant events in our lives, the ability to resolve controversial and conflict situations. Most grief and mental anguish arise because our reaction is excessive and not entirely adequate to the event that gave rise to it or, even worse, to the expectation of the event.
How to deal with such frustrating misunderstanding situations? It turns out there is a simple technique described 2,000 years ago.
Jesus summed up the theoretical justification when he said in the Sermon on the Mount:
“Do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about its own things: enough for each day is its own care.”
“And who among you, by caring, can add even one cubit to his height?”
The Greek word merimnao - “to care” is also translated as “to worry”, “to worry”, “to fear”, “to worry”. In Jesus' time it was commonly used in connection with concerns about money, hunger, or other everyday needs. Imagine a person who is worried about his bills, worried that he will not have money for food and clothing, he will not be able to pay the rent on time, or he will not be able to cope with some life circumstances.
The same word is found in Matthew 6:25 - “Therefore I say to you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or what you will drink...” However, in this verse the word merimnao (to take care) is preceded by the word me, which expresses strict ban and a command to stop doing what they have already begun to do. Jesus spoke to those who were already filled with fear and worry, telling them to stop being afraid and worrying.
This part of the verse could be translated as follows: “Stop worrying about your life...”. Then Jesus says specifically: they must stop worrying about what to eat and what to drink. Again, the word merimnao is used to mean worry, worry, worry about meeting the basic needs of life.
The word merimnao is also used in the parable of the sower: “And what was sown among the thorns is the one who hears the word, but the cares of this world and the deceitfulness of riches choke the word, and it becomes unfruitful” (Matthew 13:22). “Caring” (merimna) here also indicates anxiety and worry.
Jesus said that worries choke the word. The Greek word sumpnigo means “to choke”, also translated “to choke, extinguish, suppress, squeeze.” In fact, anxiety can overwhelm a person to such an extent that they begin to feel like they are in a vice. Experience is a suffocating force that falls on a person and fetters him.
Thus, this phrase means that we should not worry or worry about some events, cases, circumstances that develop in life. This especially applies to our time, when all sorts of unpleasant or even tragic events occur more and more often, or rather, we hear about them more and more often, thanks to the media.
But to say: “don’t worry!” simple, but starting not to worry is much more difficult.
The practical application of this principle was brought out by the Apostle Paul: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6)
Here's the step-by-step process:
1. “Don’t worry about anything,” don’t worry about immediate needs, don’t worry or panic because of some events or incidents. The word meden - “about nothing” means absolutely nothing.
2. Whenever the idea of preoccupied with something arises, turn to God with prayer or petition.
3. Reveal ALL your desires to God. Pay close attention: everything means everything. And not just those that you think are suitable for the ears of the Almighty. For Him, your problems are not big or small - for Him they are all equally small and easily solved.
4. Happy Thanksgiving. We should go into more detail here. Because there are two opinions about what this means:
Some believe that you should be grateful because He hears you and answers your prayers.
Others believe that you should give thanks for what you ask for, as if it had already happened.
No specific interpretation follows from this passage, and in the context of the entire Scripture, both points of view have the right to exist, especially since they do not contradict each other. Therefore, give thanks as your personal faith allows.
5. Does God, like a fairy godmother or a genie from a jug, promise to immediately fulfill all your desires? No. And that’s right, I’ll tell you. Due to the fact that not all wishes come true, many people are still alive. And you are alive for this reason too. But what does He promise? He promises peace and tranquility in the heart. The absence of tension that needs to be relieved with alcohol, the absence of neuroses, anorexia, bulimia and other joys of life. Which is exactly what we needed.
I myself have been using this simple and uncomplicated principle for many years. Therefore, to the question: “how do you relax?” I have only one answer: “I don’t tense up.”
There is no life without problems. That's what life is for. But many problems are mostly far-fetched. If something can be changed, it must be changed. If you can’t, then you need to accept it and move on with your life.
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