Request Thankfully

Philippians 4:6-7 amazes me. There is gold for Christian living in literally every phrase.

The verses address a near-ubiquitous problem, with instruction that is as profound as it is practical: “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God” (4:6). A stunning promise is made to those who do: “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus” (4:7). God promises His peace in exchange for our anxiety.

The deeper we go in understanding and applying these verses, the deeper our experience of its promise will be. Of course, that encouragement to go deeper comes with a warning on the flip side: a shallow understanding and application of the instruction will lead, naturally, to a shallow experience of the promised blessing. And misunderstanding and misapplying the instruction will leave one on the outside of the promise altogether.

In this blog, I want to give you a small start in going deeper in Philippians 4:6-7.  

A Forgotten Phrase

Many people miss the mark on this passage, and miss out on the peace it promises, by missing the important word “thanksgiving” in the middle of verse 6. Thankfulness counteracts anxiety, because a thankful heart acknowledges that God is God (Romans 1:19-21) and God is good (Psalm 136:1-3). 

But notice carefully how the phrase about thanksgiving fits in with the rest of the sentence in verse 6. The verse is not simply saying that we need to bring prayers of thanksgiving in addition to our prayers of petition; it’s saying we need to bring thanksgiving in our petitions. The prepositional phrase “with thanksgiving” qualifies the command “let your requests be made known to God.” It isn’t a second command beside it. The Holy Spirit is telling us how we should bring our requests to God.

So the idea is not merely “ask and give thanks.” It’s more like “ask thankfully.” Not just “petitions, then thankfulness,” but “thankful petitions.” Do you see the difference? We are not to bring requests to God about the things which concern us and then offer Him thanks for whatever else we might be able to think about, as if thankfulness were some kind of distraction technique to get our minds off of the subject that is really mattering to us in our moments of deep anxiety! No, we are supposed to find ways to thank God for and in the very things about which we are anxious and bringing requests (cf. Ephesians 5:20; 1 Thessalonians 5:18).

This is a very practical way for us to acknowledge and trust in God’s sovereignty and goodness with respect to the concerns we feel so acutely. At the very least, if you can think of nothing else, you can always thank God for receiving your requests. And you can thank Him for however he will answer them, trusting that He will, and that whatever He ordains is right.

I do not mean to suggest that thankfulness is the single silver bullet that will unlock all the fullness of the promise of Philippians 4:6-7. These verses are deep wells, and there’s a lot more wisdom to draw out of them (and out of the surrounding context) that will also contribute to a believer’s experience of God’s peace. But “with thanksgiving” is an essential part of the prescription. Oh, what peace we often forfeit! All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer, with thanksgiving.

Do you sense how much of a difference this deeper understanding of Philippians 4:6-7 could make in someone’s life? And we’ve only considered two words in the passage! So I hope this short study will motivate you to give your heart and mind even further to these wonderful verses, no matter how well-known and well-loved they may already be to you. You can still increase in your understanding and application of their wisdom. If you do, the peace that passes understanding will guard your heart and mind even more powerfully. And you will be able to minister more powerfully to others in their anxiety as well.