{"id":793,"date":"2019-01-14T14:24:22","date_gmt":"2019-01-14T14:24:22","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/?p=793"},"modified":"2019-01-25T15:07:04","modified_gmt":"2019-01-25T15:07:04","slug":"philippians-4-challenge-day-16","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/philippians-4-challenge-day-16.html","title":{"rendered":"Philippians 4 Challenge: Day 16"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"www.unsplash.com\"<\/a>
www.unsplash.com<\/figcaption><\/figure>\n

Habit #2: Pray with thanksgiving.<\/p>\n

READ IT<\/b><\/p>\n

\u201cDo not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d <\/i>(Philippians 4:6-7)<\/p>\n

Why are we so anxious? Anxiety can spring from many fountains, but its main source is lack of control. When you can\u2019t control the situations and circumstances around you, it\u2019s natural to worry. What will happen now that I got laid off from my job? Am I ever going to find someone to love? I don\u2019t trust my spouse, what are they doing? Am I going to get cancer? Will my kids make the right decisions? What if I never break free from this addiction?<\/p>\n

As you can see, it\u2019s easy to go down the rabbit hole of worry when circumstances are outside our control. It\u2019s natural, but we\u2019re not going for the natural reaction. We want the supernatural reaction. Why does the Bible tell us to pray with thanksgiving when we\u2019re worried?<\/p>\n

If worry is all about lack of control, then praying with thanksgiving is all about reminding us who\u2019s really in control: God. He holds all things. He knows all things. He is ultimately in control of all. We can take incredible comfort in that. And as you develop the habit of praying with thanksgiving, you\u2019ll discover the peace of God that comes with knowing and trusting in the God who has your life and all of your \u2018uncontrollable\u2019 circumstances safely inside of his all-powerful and all-loving hands.<\/p>\n

WRITE IT<\/b><\/p>\n

How did you do with yesterday\u2019s \u2018Live it\u2019 Challenge? Did anyone mention to you about your attitude of joy? If so, share in the comments below<\/a>!<\/p>\n

PRAY IT<\/b><\/p>\n

God, my life is safely inside of your loving arms. All of the circumstances inside and outside of my control are held firmly within your all-powerful hands. I thank you for ruling and reigning over my life as a good Heavenly Father.<\/i><\/p>\n

LIVE IT<\/b><\/p>\n

See if you can catch yourself 3-5 times today starting to worry about something. When you start to worry, redirect that energy towards praying with thanksgiving. Continue praying until the peace of God begins to guard your heart and your mind.<\/p>\n

Use #phil4challenge<\/i> to spread the word about the Philippians 4 Challenge!<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

Habit #2: Pray with thanksgiving. READ IT \u201cDo not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.\u201d (Philippians 4:6-7) Why are we so anxious? Anxiety…<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":607,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"closed","ping_status":"closed","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[365],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-793","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-phil4challenge"],"yoast_head":"\nPhilippians 4 Challenge: Day 16 - Next Steps<\/title>\n<meta name=\"description\" content=\"Day 16 of the Philippians 4 Challenge\" \/>\n<meta name=\"robots\" content=\"noindex, nofollow\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:locale\" content=\"en_US\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:type\" content=\"article\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:title\" content=\"Philippians 4 Challenge: Day 16 - Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:description\" content=\"Day 16 of the Philippians 4 Challenge\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:url\" content=\"https:\/\/www.beliefnet.com\/columnists\/nextsteps\/2019\/01\/philippians-4-challenge-day-16.html\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:site_name\" content=\"Next Steps\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:author\" content=\"facebook.com\/drjoshdaffern\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:published_time\" content=\"2019-01-14T14:24:22+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"article:modified_time\" content=\"2019-01-25T15:07:04+00:00\" \/>\n<meta property=\"og:image\" content=\"https:\/\/wp-media.patheos.com\/blogs\/mtvpastor\/files\/2016\/01\/Philippians-4-Challenge-300x181.jpg\" \/>\n<meta name=\"author\" content=\"Josh Daffern\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:card\" content=\"summary_large_image\" \/>\n<meta name=\"twitter:creator\" content=\"@joshdaffern\" \/>\n<!-- \/ Yoast SEO plugin. -->","yoast_head_json":{"title":"Philippians 4 Challenge: Day 16 - 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Josh graduated from New Orleans Seminary with a Masters of Divinity and a Doctor of Ministry. Josh has been involved in full-time ministry for over twenty years. He enjoys hiking, beach volleyball, reading, playing anything competitive, and rough-housing with his kids. Josh, his gorgeous wife Robin, his outrageously handsome boys Zeke, Shepherd and Lincoln and his princess Elle, live in northern Virginia. Josh also blogs on Patheos as New Wineskins: an Apologist for the Modern Church and you can find links to all his content on joshdaffern.com. 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