Persistent Prayer Promises Peace
by Jonathan Zavodney • July 7, 2025
A devotional given to Sovereign Joy Baptist Church on July 6, 2025
The Lord is near. Do not be anxious about anything, rather in all circumstances let your requests be made known to God by means of prayer and supplication with thankfulness, and the peace of God which exceeds comprehension will protect your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Philippians 4:5b–7
In four words, the message of these verses is this: persistent prayer promises peace. In the next few minutes, I’ll comment on how Paul understands the problem, the provision, and the promise.
First, the problem. The problem is anxiety or sinful worry, which is a fear-filled response to a situation as a result of unexpressed desire and doubt. In other words, anxiety is ultimately a symptom of a deeper problem: doubt. From these verses, we learn that anxiety is by its nature distressing because peace is the solution; by its nature hostile because protection is what peace will provide for us; and by its nature holistic in that it attacks our whole beings because both our hearts and minds need protecting.
Second, how does Paul understand the provision? The provision is prayer, and we learn from these verses that this prayer is persistent because we are to do it in all circumstances, every situation, and that the type of prayer that promises peace is the prayer that is filled with thankfulness. Now, did you notice, though, that Paul didn’t just say “pray” as in “don’t be anxious about anything, but in everything pray”? Rather, he said something very unique: “Let your requests be made known to God.” This is the only time in the New Testament where humans are said to “make something known to God.” This unique call is instructive as we think about the problem of anxiety and the provision of prayer.
To unpack this, imagine the situation: something happens (like your blood work is concerning and you need to go back for more extensive testing) or something will happen (like you're planning to invite your neighbor, brother, or mom to church) and your heart and mind immediately react with fear as a dozen “what if” questions ambush you in a matter of seconds. This text so gently calls us to pause, reflect on what exactly it is we are wanting in those moments, what exactly we’re fearing, and to tell our heavenly Father. And as we pause, reflect, and request, we often find that the things we’re wanting and fearing are made known to us. In all this, then, we are given the chance to see what exactly we might be doubting about our heavenly Father in those moments.
Most often anxiety is the result of our doubting that God is in complete control, that he has our best interest in mind, or that he knows exactly how to give us what is best for us. In other words, anxiety is most often the result of our doubting that God is sovereign, that God is good, or that God is wise.
Now finally, the promise. The promise is peace. From these verses, we learn that this peace is from God Himself—God Himself will see to it that you have peace; as a result, we won’t be able to comprehend it totally; and this peace comes from our intimate connection to Jesus Christ. In a very real sense, as you are faithful to pray persistently with thankfulness, telling God what it is you’re wanting that you will experience such a peace that you will not fully understand, a peace the source of which is God Himself in Jesus Christ.
In this vein, the last thing I want to draw out is concerns habit of thankfulness because it is precisely by this habit of thankfulness that God actually begins to give us the peace that we cannot fully understand. As we are faithful to be thankful, we start to see that God has already done so much; He’s already given so much—His Son, His Spirit—and our souls start to testify to us, saying, “Of course my God is sovereign! Of course my God is good! Of course my God is wise! And I can trust Him.”
In fact, the comment right before the discussion on anxiety assures us of God’s nearness, of His being for us: “The Lord is near.” These words are reminiscent of verses like Psalm 145:18–19: “The Lord is near to all who call on Him, to all who call on Him in truth. He fulfills the desires of those who fear Him; He also hears their cry and saves them.”
With that in mind, let’s us consider the temptation to anxiety as a propellent to pray, something that propels us to go to God, our Father who is near, and to let him know what we want with thankfulness and to receive, in turn, His peace that surpasses comprehension.
