Don't worry, pray!

“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.” Philippians 4:6
How many times do we read in the Bible, ‘Don’t worry’, and yet we keep on doing it? It’s human nature to worry about what the future might hold. But as we grow in our Christian maturity, and learn to really trust God in all things, we will find that we will worry less. He holds the future, and He’s not going to let anything happen to us that will destroy us. His plans for us are good.
Whenever we’re given a command in the New Testament to not do something, we are also given a command to do something else. Here, we are told, ‘Don’t worry’, and ‘pray’. Paul gives us four kinds of prayer here, which are interesting to explore. First we have ‘prayer’ – simply talking to God, spending time with Him. Then we have ‘petition’, or ‘supplication’ – asking God for things that we need. Thirdly is ‘thanksgiving’. It’s good to give God thanks for all that He has done and is doing for us! Lastly, we have ‘requests’, things we are asking for on our own behalf or on the behalf of others.
Of course, when we’re tempted to worry is not the only time we should pray. But when we are worried, prayer will right our perspective about the situation.