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| (Monroe County) |
(I'm re-posting this for someone who asked.)
In Philippians 4 Paul commands Jesus-followers to “be
anxious about nothing.” (v. 6)
The biblical Greek word for ‘anxious’ is often used in contexts where persecution is happening. For example, in Matthew 10:19, Jesus counsels his disciples: “When they arrest you, do not be anxious about what to say or how to say it.”
The biblical Greek word for ‘anxious’ is often used in contexts where persecution is happening. For example, in Matthew 10:19, Jesus counsels his disciples: “When they arrest you, do not be anxious about what to say or how to say it.”
When Paul counsels the Philippians to not be anxious, it’s not
like he’s sitting on the beach savoring a latte. He’s in prison! The
context is: persecution. The Philippian Jesus-followers were suffering under
opposition from their pagan neighbors, like Paul and Silas suffered
when among them (Acts 16:19-24; Phil 1:28-30).
I know what anxiety is. I have experienced it in troubling times. How realistic is it to be told "Be anxious for nothing" when you are facing hard circumstances?
I know what anxiety is. I have experienced it in troubling times. How realistic is it to be told "Be anxious for nothing" when you are facing hard circumstances?
Paul's answer, emerging out of his experience, is found in his rich, ongoing prayer life. He writes:
Do not be anxious about anything,
but in every situation,
by prayer and petition,
present your requests to God.
Philippians 4:6-7
Paul's praying life is a deep vein of gold producing spiritual wealth and wellness. His praying life was ongoing. Paul prays, as was his habit, unceasingly.
Psychologist Henri Nouwen (professor at Yale and Harvard) reasoned that a praying life can dispel anxiety. (See Nouwen, Gracias! A Latin American Journal.) Nouwen said when he didn't pray, he was more easily filled with anxiety. But as he lived a praying life, God diminished his anxiety.
Nouwen experienced not praying as intensifying anxiety. This does not logically imply that the source of one's anxiety is prayerlessness, any more than thinking the cause of an infection is the lack of antibiotics. But in the act of praying we receive caregiving from the Great Physician. I experience this, often.
(I recognize that there are clinical, neurophysical conditions that cause anxiety and fear. The antidote for such conditions may be medications. But even when medications stabilize a person's emotions, issues of trust may remain. Medication will not fully help a person when the only chair they have keeps breaking, but it may help them access the spiritual help they need.
If you have severe anxiety I recommend two things:
1) Praying, and having people pray for you.
2) Seeing a physician who is skilled in treating you physically.
Combine spiritual intervention with medical intervention.
Nouwen experienced not praying as intensifying anxiety. This does not logically imply that the source of one's anxiety is prayerlessness, any more than thinking the cause of an infection is the lack of antibiotics. But in the act of praying we receive caregiving from the Great Physician. I experience this, often.
In everyday prayer-conferencing with God I present my requests to
him. I lay my burdens before him (See 1 Peter 5:7). I have a Father God who
loves me, in whom I trust. Where there is trust, there is neither worry nor
anxiety. A person with a praying life grows in trust and diminishes in anxiety.
A praying person discovers that trust and anxiety are inversely proportionate.
Paul says that our prayers should be accompanied “with
thanksgiving.” Ben Witherington writes:
“Paul believes there is much to be said for praying in the right spirit or
frame of mind.” This is significant for the Roman Philippians, since pagan
prayers did not include thanksgiving. Roman prayers were often fearful,
bargaining prayers, not based on a relationship with some god.
Witherington adds: “Prayer with the attitude of thanksgiving is a
stress-buster.” John Wesley said that thanksgiving is the surest evidence
of a soul free from anxiety.
Paul's antidote for worry and anxiety is: praying, with
thanksgiving.
(I recognize that there are clinical, neurophysical conditions that cause anxiety and fear. The antidote for such conditions may be medications. But even when medications stabilize a person's emotions, issues of trust may remain. Medication will not fully help a person when the only chair they have keeps breaking, but it may help them access the spiritual help they need.
If you have severe anxiety I recommend two things:
1) Praying, and having people pray for you.
2) Seeing a physician who is skilled in treating you physically.
Combine spiritual intervention with medical intervention.
***
My two books are:
Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God
Leading the Presence-Driven Church
I am writing...
Encounters with the Holy Spirit (June 2019)
How God Changes the Human Heart
Technology and Spiritual Formation
Linda and I will then co-write our book on Relationships.
Praying: Reflections on 40 Years of Solitary Conversations with God
Leading the Presence-Driven Church
I am writing...
Encounters with the Holy Spirit (June 2019)
How God Changes the Human Heart
Technology and Spiritual Formation
Linda and I will then co-write our book on Relationships.
