Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
Mineral Springs Church of Christ Podcast
It’s Prayer Time
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Anxiety can feel like a second job you never applied for: your mind rehearses worst-case scenarios, your body stays tense, and your heart keeps asking, “What if?” We start with a bold line from Philippians 4:6-7, “be anxious for nothing,” and we tell the truth about why that sounds impossible when you’re dealing with money stress, family concerns, health updates, deadlines, and the stuff you can’t even put into words yet.
We walk through what the Bible actually gives us when worry shows up. Prayer is not denial, and it is not a performance. Paul’s direction is specific: pray, bring your requests, and do it with supplication and thanksgiving. We unpack why sincere asking matters, why gratitude is not God’s ego trip, and how remembering what God has already done can rebuild faith for what you’re facing now.
Then we get practical about the waiting. God does not promise to answer every request on our schedule or in the exact form we imagine, but He does promise peace that surpasses understanding. That peace stands guard over your heart and your mind, so your emotions do not run the whole show and your thoughts do not spiral without limits. We close with a clear invitation to bring your anxiety to God in prayer, together, as a church community that believes prayer works.
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Welcome And A Quick Laugh
Anderson GeorgeI thank you for being here. You could have been anywhere else, but you chose to be here, and for that, I am grateful and I am hopeful that you would be encouraged and blessed on this morning. I also want to personally thank you for making last week's family and friends day a special day. How we filled the house, persons who were encouraged as they got spiritual food and physical food. But I also want to thank you because you guys have finally given me a reason to go to the gym. After eating and feasting last Sunday, I came to the realization that if I am to eat and feast like that once every month, it would be in my interest to pay a visit to the gym just so that I could lose three pounds to put it back on on the second Sunday of every month. I also am buying time because in my mind is currently circulating three texts, therefore, three sermons. It's the sermon I came with, Joshua chapter number one, verse one to nine. But then Bible class happens, and sometimes when you look at me funny, God deposits a scripture into my mind, and so Luke 15 came into my spirit from Bible class, and then Paul, while giving announcements and speaking about persons in need of prayer, placed Philippians chapter four in my mind, and now I am betwixt between the three and don't know which one to do.
Choosing The Scripture For Today
Anderson GeorgePhilippians. Philippians chapter number four. And I will read verse number six and seven into your hearing. Philippians chapter number four. And I will read verses six and seven into your hearing. Scripture says be anxious for nothing, 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 comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. Be anxious for nothing, but in everything, by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let your requests be made known to God and the peace of God, which is beyond all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. If you read that with me, say amen. The title is a simple one. It is it's prayer time.
SPEAKER_00It's prayer time.
Why “Don’t Worry” Feels Hard
Anderson GeorgeThe text begins by saying, be anxious for nothing, and the fact that it says be anxious for nothing makes me anxious. Telling me not to be anxious for some reason makes me anxious. But then I realized this word being used here, the Greek word merimnao, is the same word Jesus uses in Matthew chapter number six, when he says, I tell you, do not worry. And so this word, don't be anxious, is actually do not worry. And then I realize that as much as Jesus tells me not to worry in Matthew chapter number six, and Paul tells me not to worry in Philippians, I could tell you Peter also tells me not to worry in First Peter chapter number five. There are many passages in scripture that tells us not to worry, and it makes me realize God needs to tell me regularly not to worry because I enjoy worrying. I enjoy worrying, and then I worry about the fact that I'm worrying, and I just believe that there may be one or two persons inside here who are worry words like myself. You you are worried about tomorrow, you're worried about how your life will turn out, you're worried about your children, you're worried about your finances, you're worried about the gas prices. Gas is ridiculous. You're worried about all this stuff. I worry about everything. I worry about whether Michalia is having a good day today because today is a birthday. I worry about what my evening is going to be like because I have eight pages to write for a paper, and I have only written 10 words. I worry about what my week is going to be like because, on top of this, eight pages, I have an exam tomorrow and I have three pages to write that's due on Wednesday. I'm worried about the rest of September because for some reason the month feels long. We're only on the 20th day, but for some reason, the the money that came this month felt like it was not made to last until the month ended. So there seems like there's more month than money. So I'm worried. I'm worried about every time I jump on a plane, whether I'll make it to my destination or not. I'm worried, and I'm only telling you about my worries because I'm trying to disarm you. There are things you are worried about too. Things that, unlike me, you're not able to voice. You might be worried about something that you can't yet put into words, that you don't have the energy or the emotion to share. You're worried about something, you're anxious about something. And here's God telling us not to be worried about it. And I struggle with God telling me not to worry because how could I not worry about this paper when it's due? How could I not worry about bills and rent and groceries when money seems to be waning? How could I not worry, God? How could I not be worried about my dad's health back home? How could I not be worried about the things that are currently going on in my life? How can I not worry? You're telling me not to, but the only thing that I can do is worry.
Lilies Birds And Real Life Bills
Anderson GeorgeHow could you tell me, don't worry, consider the lilies of the field and the birds of the air? Can I be honest for two seconds? I'm only going to be honest if you allow me to. Could I be honest for two seconds? Matthew chapter number six, he says, Don't worry, consider the lilies of the field and the bills of the air. How they do not toil nor spin, and yet your heavenly father clothes them. Are you not much more better than they are? And I tell you, Solomon in all his wisdom was not arrayed like one of these. I read that, and my immediate response to God is you're telling me not to worry, look at flowers in the grass. Those flowers, those lilies, those roses, those begonias, those whatever, they don't have rent. They don't need to worry about whether gas is four dollars or three dollars. They don't worry about gas.
SPEAKER_00They don't have the same issues I do. The birds of the air.
Anderson GeorgeFor birds, I can't go live in a tree. It's what I think immediately when I read this passage telling me, look at the lily of the field. But God is trying to say, the lily of the field is under my case, under my watch. I am the one that gives sunshine to the lilies and water to the flowers. And just as I do that for them, so that they could blossom and bloom and bear fruit, I'll do it for you. And then I realize what he's trying to get me to understand is worrying changes nothing. In fact, I believe that part of the reason why I am gray this young is because I'm good at worrying, and I worried myself into a full head of gray hair. Be anxious for nothing is a bold statement for God to make to us through the apostle Paul. There is nothing, absolutely nothing, that should cause you to have anxiety. God, you may need to come back and walk on this earth again. Because there are many things that causes us to be anxious. Probably two thousand years ago, there weren't many things, but now there's several things to be anxious for. Be anxious for nothing. But the text does not stop there.
Redirect Anxiety Into Prayer
Anderson GeorgeIt tells us what to do when anxiety does arise. When you do become worried about something, when something occupies your mind that you have no control over, something occupies your mind that you don't yet have an answer for, when something occupies your mind that is beyond your capacity, beyond your ability, beyond your comprehension, when anxiety arises, when worry arises, he says, Let that become your everything that you give to God in prayer. So now what he does is he takes your worry and he tells you where to redirect it. It makes no sense for you to worry over what you cannot control, but it does make sense for you to take your worry and place it in my hands. My mentor a few weeks ago was speaking about hands and the hands that you place something in and how it matters whose hands it is in. He began his sermon by saying, if you were to place a basketball in his hand, it would mean nothing. But then you allow a legend like Michael Jordan to touch that ball and the value of that ball increases.
SPEAKER_00He says that if you will to take a tennis ball and you place it in his hands, he could do precious little with it.
Anderson GeorgeBut you take that same tennis ball and you put it in Andrew Agassiz's hands or Venus Williams or Serena Williams, and all of a sudden that tennis ball rises in value because of whose hands it is in and what those hands could do with it. And it makes me now think that God is telling us your hands are not good enough, not big enough, not strong enough to hold your anxieties, to hold your worries. But if you could take those worries, those anxieties, and place it in his hands, he could move mountains, he could part seas. You just give him a worry, and he'll show you what to do with it. Abraham had a worry that Sarah couldn't get pregnant and he would not have a son, and God didn't just give him a son, God made him father of many nations. Israel were worried that the Red Sea would stop them, and God split the sea, didn't just split it, allow them to walk in the middle of the sea, and it was dry. David was watching sheep and was worried about a lion and a bear, but God caused the lion and the bear to be nothing for him, so that when he met Goliath, he knew all he needed to do was put Goliath in God's hands. In the New Testament, the disciples were on a religious seminar, and it was getting late. And by the time they got there, it would be closed. So the disciples began telling Jesus, let's just send everybody home hungry, and Jesus said, No, let's feed them. And Philip finds a boy who has his breakfast, a few loaves and fish. And this boy was willing to place what was in his hands in the hands of Jesus. And it was only when he did that that what was in Jesus' hands was enough for everybody. When he says, be anxious for nothing, he's not telling you don't have worries. We will inevitably have something that causes us to worry. He's telling us what to do with our worries. Our hands are not big enough, our hands are not strong enough, our hands are not capable enough to deal with our own worries. Take your worries and place it in his hands. But there's a way to do it. There is a way to do it, church.
Supplication And Thanksgiving Explained
SPEAKER_00He says, through prayer and supplication with Thanksgiving.
Anderson GeorgeThat part messes me up. Because it reminds me that sometimes we treat God as if he's Santa Claus or a genny. Guess what I mean? The only time you call him up in prayer is when you want something, and so all your prayers song like, Father, I need, Father, please give me, father, hear me now. But he wants you to be able, even as you are giving up your anxiety, even as you are placing your worry in his hands, he wants you to pray and supplicate. Supplicate here means to come earnestly, don't pray half-heartedly. If I had time, I'll tell you anyone who prays and does not pray sincerely, James says, don't even think for two seconds that God will answer that prayer. No, you're all looking at me, funny. That's what James says. If you waver while you pray, why do you think God will answer such a faithless prayer? So as I'm supplicating, I'm I'm coming before God, I'm pleading before God, but I'm pleading in faith because I know only God can, only God is able, only God could do with this what I can't. More than I could even think or even imagine. So I'm coming in supplication, but my prayer should also be furnished with thanksgiving. Well, why does God want me to give thanks?
SPEAKER_00Is it because God is narcissistic? No, he isn't.
Anderson GeorgePrayer is as much for God as it is for us. You're all looking at me funny. Do you think God is taken by surprise with what's going on in your life? Do you think he didn't know before you called him up in prayer? Do you think he was blind? No, he knew. Well, if God knew, then why do I pray? Because it's not just for him, it's also for you. So the thanksgiving part of your prayer is not you just giving God flowers, it's not just you appreciating God because God likes to feel important and needed and wanted. Part of you giving thanksgiving is because it's to remind you that you were in a situation before, you had anxieties before, you had worries before, you were in a dark place before, and God answered and showed up then. And it's to give you hope, it's to give you faith, it's to give you comfort that if God did it before, he could do it again. And so you come in thanksgiving, to come in thanksgiving. Is is I need to remember that God did something in my life that's worth thanking him for. So even God, as I answer, even as I ask you to deal with this problem that's coming up on tomorrow, to deal with my anxieties, to deal with my worry, to deal with my health situation, to deal with my concerns. I'm thanking you. Because you've sustained me, you've kept me, you have protected me, you have brought me through hills and valleys. God, you've done some stuff. And I'm thanking you for what you've done as I anticipate what you're still about to do. Everything I'm bringing before him with prayer and supplication, let your requests be made known to God. Like the fact that request is plural. Because the truth is, you don't just have one, and if you have one today, you'll have another one tomorrow. But as many as you have, you could bring it before God. Bring every one of them. There was a time in my life where I thought some things were too small to bother God about. What God is saying here is it's not your decision to determine what's too big or what's too small. Your role is to bring everything in prayer with supplication and thanksgiving. Let all of them be made known. And if you do that, God says, I'll do something for you too.
Peace While You Wait For Answers
Anderson GeorgeThe peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. I'm going to demonstrate this hopefully, but I want you to see this with me first. Paul did not say exactly what your requests he'll give you. I want to make sure you see that. And every request you ask, God will give you an answer for the way you want it. But what you can be certain of is as you request it, God will give you something while he works on it. Come here, church. Because the second thing Paul does not say is God will answer it quick, fast, and in a hurry. Oh, I wish I had a church. He didn't say God will answer it the way you asked for it, and he also didn't say that God will answer it quick, fast, and in a hurry. So there is something that you need to do, and something you need to have in the meantime while God is working on what you prayed for.
SPEAKER_00And what you need is peace.
Anderson GeorgePeace that can only come from Him. Because this peace is not freedom from anxiety, it's stillness in the midst of it. That's the difference. God is not always in his answering, going to answer in such a way that you find immediate relief, and the answer is exactly what you wanted. But as you pray and as you trust that he will do what he believes is his will and the best for you, that he will give you peace. He would allow you to find comfort and faith in him that would cause you to go to bed tonight and sleep while you wait for an answer comfortably. Comfortably. It's this exchange that Paul is telling us that will happen. That as I cast my worries to God, God in turn gives me peace. And this peace, he says, is now a God that stands in front of both my heart and my mind. It's a peace that stands in front of my heart so my emotions don't get the better of me while I wait for God to answer. But it stands in front of my mind as well, so that I can have confidence, so that I could say all things work together for good to them that love God. Nay, in all these things we are more than conquerors. The steps of a good man are ordered by the Lord, and God delights in his way. I can say, Cast all your cares before him because he cares for you. Humble yourself under the mighty hand of God that he may lift you up and exalt you in due time. His spirit guards my mind so that even though I don't have an answer yet, I could be confident that God is working things out in my favor. Oh, I wish I had a church. And it could very well be that before you give God your anxiety, you need to tell him, just give you wisdom for where you are right now. I'm struggling with where I am and what's happening to me, God. So right now, give me wisdom. I know what happened. I didn't give you all the Bible for that one. All right. Anderson, do you have a Bible for that? Yes, I'm glad you asked. James, chapter number one, verse number two says, Count it all joy, my brethren, when you fall into diverse temptations, knowing that the testing of your faith produces endurance. And let endurance have her perfect work with you, that you may be entire lacking nothing. Here's verse 5 of James chapter number one. And if any of you lack wisdom, let him ask of God who will not upbraid you and will give you without reproach. So it could very well be that before you even ask God to answer your situation, is just help me understand what is happening and where I am so that I could find peace while I wait.
A More Prayerful Church Life
Anderson GeorgeBe anxious for nothing, being present in this text allows me to know that we need to be a praying type of people. Because the more I read, be anxious for nothing, is the more I realize how anxious I am about everything, and that the answer for my anxiety is to place it in God's hands. It means then that one of the characteristics of us being God's children is that we should be more prayerful than we are. Time would not permit me to tell you that I think we should pray more, both as a community but also individually. If we are people who say we believe in the power of prayer, if we are people who could quote passages that say the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much, then shouldn't we be praying all the time about everything as people, not just individually? Oh no, you're looking funny now. Think about it, church. If we think that God hears prayer and answers the prayer of the righteous, shouldn't you want every righteous person praying for things? Shouldn't we then as a church take time out every now and then to come together to make sure that there's several righteous people petitioning God for various things, believing that the effectual, fervent prayer of the righteous avails much? And then if you're like me, if you're like me, there are days where I don't feel righteous. It may make sense on those days that I get some of you inside here to pray for me. Because when I don't feel righteous, I at least believe there's a couple righteous people inside here that God could hear even when I think He can't hear me. Oh, I wish I had a church. I want to move, but I don't want to give Judy problems to the camera.
SPEAKER_00Yeah, we we should be, we should be, we should be a more prayerful type of people, but then we don't pray like we should, and it makes me realize because sometimes even us doubt the power and the efficiency and the effectiveness of prayer, so sometimes you don't pray like you should because we too doubt that God will do something about this situation, and that leads to weak prayer lives sometimes.
Anderson GeorgeWeak prayer lives where instead of asking God boldly, where before instead of coming boldly before the throne, we come weakly, we come sheepishly. Where instead of being able to say God heal Jimmy, we then say, God, if it's your will. Oh, I struck a nerve with that one. Can't we have enough faith to ask God to heal Jimmy and then allow God to determine whether it's his will or not? But it's because we don't have enough faith that we can't even say, heal. God, whatever you're doing, do it, and we'll be okay.
SPEAKER_00Sometimes my request is I would like you to do. And Father, however you answer, give me peace. Peace that passes all comprehension. It's prayer time, church.
Invitation To Come Forward For Prayer
Anderson GeorgeI don't think I told you this yet, but back home, my church would occasionally call me the unorthodox preacher. Because I would occasionally do unorthodox things. Today is one of those days. Because the title is It's Prayer Time, and we've been talking about prayer, that's exactly what we're going to do after we sing. And I wish I knew I was going to preach this before, because what I would have done is I would have had boxes that look like boulders be placed at the back of the sanctuary. And I would ask you if you have a thing that's weighing you down, if you are anxious about something, pick up a box and bring it and place it on the altar, and then we'll just pray for every box that's present. But I didn't have time to prepare. So, what I want you to do is still come with your anxiety, come with your worry. Bring your box before God now. And again, you don't have to tell me what your thing is. All I'm saying is if there is at least one thing that you are anxious about, now is a good time for us to pray about it. So take your anxiety and meet me on the front row. And we will pray that whatever your request is, that the God of all grace, the God of all peace, and God of all comfort would not just hear, would not just answer, but he'll give you what you need while you wait on his response. Let's be standing as we're standing. If you have an anxiety, be walking. And while you're walking, we'll be singing. Let's sing.