Tuesday's Choice: Memorizing Verses

So today, for my memorizing, I'm sharing another group of verses that I love.

Philippians 4:4-8

4 Rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice!

5 Let your gentleness be evident to all. The Lord is near.

6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.

8 Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.

Not a super long passage, and one that might be easy to memorize but so difficult to actually do in our day to day lives.  

Lately I've been mulling over, okay let's face it - worrying - as to what I should do next year.  Right now, I am loving teaching preschool, but I am also loving teaching piano.  I have had several people ask me whether or not I'd be taking new students in fall, and so I have started to think about what route I should go.  I talked about it, thought about it, stewed over it, but mostly just worried over it.  As I was thinking about it again this morning, this passage of verses came into my mind.  And I have to admit, verse six was the one that kept coming into my mind.  Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation BY PRAYER and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.  BY PRAYER - WITH THANKSGIVING!  Not by prayer with lots of worry.  Not by prayer, but still obsessing about it.  But it is by prayer with thanksgiving. And i realized, that it wasn't with a thankful heart it was with a worried, stressed heart that I was coming to God.  I knew He could show me what to do - but as I was praying, I realized I wasn't convinced He would.  I was praying because I was supposed to, not because I was thankful for the answer God would bring me.  It was just a force of habit really.  And then as I printed out these verses today, verse 7 hit me.  AND THE PEACE OF GOD WHICH TRANSCENDS ALL UNDERSTANDING, WILL GUARD YOUR HEARTS AND YOUR MINDS IN CHRIST JESUS.  Well, I certainly wasn't feeling any peace when I was praying.  But I also wasn't praying with thanksgiving.  If I HAD been praying with a heart of thanksgiving (thanking God for the answers He would provide me) I WOULD have that peace verse 7 talks about.  Can you imagine?  A peace that transcends all understanding.  WOW!  I am really thinking I have to change my heart when I pray.  If I pray with a heart of thanksgiving, God will give me peace that I can't even begin to make sense of.  I want that!!! Can you imagine that kind of calm!?!?!?!  WOW!!!!

Lord help my unbelief when I pray.  Help me to come to you with a thankful heart when I make my requests to you.  Help me to truly present my requests to you believing that you will answer!!!  Help me to become more like you!