Today’s scripture: Philippians 4:1-9 (NRSV) (The Message) (KJV) What might God be saying to me?
My thoughts (John Seksay):
This passage contains one of the most often quoted passages on how to pray.
When I turn to a different translation from the original Greek, I get a subtle difference in the flavor of it: “Be not preoccupied about anything, but let the things you ask for be pointed out to God by prayer and earnest requests with gratitude. And the peace of God, which conquers all processes of thinking, will keep watch over your mind and what you think about by means of the Anointed One Jesus.”*
Have you ever wondered what you could do with your day if you didn’t feel preoccupied with a gazillion nagging details? The world is full of things that seem to demand our attention — this is especially true with our “ability” and “opportunity” to be connected to so many sources of information today. If anything, the result of all this information seems to drive us to a point of distraction approaching paralysis. Everything gets noticed, but we end up responding superficially to many stimuli without much depth or focus on any particular item. We do not so much live in the world as we have the world overrun our thoughts and attention like an occupying army. Paul’s advice is clear: start your day by putting into place the peace of God. This will become a filter that sifts out the less important and keeps us focused for the day on that which is truly beneficial to our spiritual well-being, work we are capable of accomplishing with the proper focus.
One key benefit that Paul stated is related to the Greek term arete. This is translated as the English word “excellence” in many versions, but the original term has a much deeper sense of living up to one’s full potential in mind, body, and spirit. If we live without this divine focus, we may stunt our souls and diminish the blessings we experience. The choice is ours every day!
*(Study New Testament for Lesbians, Gays, Bi, and Transgendered, with extensive notes on Greek word meaning and context by Dr. A. Nyland; Smith & Stirling Publishing, 2007)
Thought for the day: Prayer is the lens that will bring into focus the real tasks before us each day. Let God help us keep our lives on track!
We encourage you to include a time of prayer with this reading. If you need a place to get started, consider the suggestions on the How to Pray page.