Philippians 4:6-7 says, “In nothing be anxious, but in everything, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.

How wonderful is it to know that God’s care for us leads Him to want us to cast our cares on Him (1 Pet. 5:7)? It is sad when such a privilege is ignored.

As the hymn What a Friend We Have in Jesus says, “O what peace we often forfeit, O what needless pain we bear, All because we do not carry Everything to God in prayer.”

As the hymn Did You Think to Pray? says, “O how praying rests the weary! Prayer will change the night to day, So when life seems dark and dreary, Don’t forget to pray.”

While God’s care should lead us to pray frequently and continuously, we should remember that God answers prayer according to His will.

There are some things we may be tempted to pray for that we know (through God’s Word) are not in harmony with His will. We should not pray for such things.

There are other things that, as far as we can know, might be in accordance with God’s will, but they also might not be. Such things are not wrong to pray for, but we should desire God’s will to be done above all.

An example of this is seen in 2 Corinthians 12. In that chapter, the apostle Paul spoke about his thorn in the flesh (verse 7). Paul did not initially know what the Lord’s will was for him concerning this thorn in the flesh. He prayed three times that it be removed (verse 8). He came to find out, though, that God did not intend to take this thorn in the flesh away (verse 9). Paul accepted God’s answer, and became grateful for what good could come from his thorn in the flesh (verse 10).

The point is that God’s care should not be confused with God promising to conform His will to ours. Though we may not always say these words, an attitude we should have when praying is, “not my will, but yours, be done” (Luke 22:42).

May we accept God’s care and trust His perfect understanding.

– Michael Hickox