This morning I was reminded that all things are made holy through God and prayer with the verse in the book of 1 Timothy that says as much.

“⁴For everything created by God is good, and nothing is to be rejected if it is received with thanksgiving, ⁵for it is made holy by the word of God and prayer.” – 1 Timothy 4:4-5 (ESV)

Paul is writing to Timothy in encouragement to continue in the faith. Here he is letting him know that even though there are those who reject the faith, and frankly those that turn away from it, that is not the end of things. It is up to Timothy and those who believe and are faithful, to pray continue praying to bring back to holiness. I am to continue in faith and even though things around me may be falling away, I have the ability to bring them to God through prayer and He can/will bring them back to holy those that are in His Will.

This may feel a bit confusing to some, and to me without additional study of God’s Word. I have to remember that just because I want something to be holy, does not mean that it will be. It has to be within God’s Will to make it holy and it has to come from the heart and not just the mouth. I may want ill gotten gains to be made acceptable for my own personal reasons and begin praying for God to make it so. Without it being part of God’s Will, He does not make it holy.

When I am wanting something to be brought back into the fold of God, I am to offer it up in prayer and supplication. But, before doing so as a person of faith, I have to first study to understand if it is something of real value to the Will of God or is it something personal that is a want of man (me). It is in this study that I am remaining in the faith and working to find the Will of God in my life and when finding His Will, He grants holiness of my petition in His name and for His Will.

One has to be careful, as I have noted before and will continue to do so, when reviewing the scripture. It is very easy to pick and choose words and verses from God’s Word to meet the thoughts and views that we hold personally. Even the two verses above can be misconstrued in meaning to fit what is selfishly wanted. For example, I may want something and read that all created by God is good and if I pray for it, I am entitled to it from God as made holy through prayer. Just because something is prayed for does not make it holy. One has to read the rest of the passage and understand that all things created by God and are for His glory, not my own.

Yes, those things brought to God through prayer are made holy when they are brought to Him for His glory. When they are brought from the heart and with God’s Will in mind, He will accept those that are in line with His Will and work. It is not for me to say what or how God will work with that which I bring to Him. It is simply for me to determine the goodness through His Word and bring to Him in prayer, allowing God to decide what and how that will be used according to His Will.

What are you bringing to the LORD in prayer? Are you bringing for your own selfish gain? What if you first put your requests to the test of the Word of God and then brought to Him those that to His Will be decided on by Him and made holy by Him through prayer and supplication?

“⁴Rejoice in the Lord always; again I will say, rejoice. ⁵Let your reasonableness be known to everyone. The Lord is at hand; ⁶do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. ⁷And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.” – Philippians 4:4-7 (ESV)

Seems simple enough. Pray to the LORD and allow Him to take away the anxiety. Give your troubles to Him and He will relieve the stress of the situation. Just talking with God will allow you to speak to what ails you and He will comfort you. It does seem simple enough.

But, is it. Well, yes it is. The LORD is here to guard us and protect us and comfort us. He is our Father in heaven and only wants what is best for us, and even will work to relieve the anxiety we have developed.

The thing is, yes here it is, God will remove the anxiety, we are responsible for truly giving it to Him. It is one thing to make the statement that we have given it to God to work through for us and then it is something else to actually allow Him to do His work.

Supplication: to make a humble entreaty, to ask humble and earnestly of, to ask for earnestly and humbly – Merriam-Webster Online

Paul uses the word “supplication” here as well as in other letters. What a lovely word for us to remember when we are praying to the LORD to take away our anxiety and take things over for us. It is truly about the earnest and humble plea to the LORD where He will do His work. Not that He would not work for us without it, just that with supplication of our prayers, it is from our heart and fully understood that we are not able to do it alone or simply without the help from our Father.

I title this writing, “reduce anxiety with prayer” to indicate that all that we are anxious about, does not have to be. There are things that are fully out of our control and can/will be handled by others. God is those others. I have to remember to supplicate and pray to the LORD and allow Him to take these things from me and work them to His glory and plan. When I do, I will find it refreshing to get on with the rest of things in the name of the LORD.

What things are you giving to the LORD? Are you giving them to Him in just your words? What if you were to supplicate and pray to the LORD and give all to Him from your heart to remove the anxiety?