Philippians 4: Present your requests to God, and the peace of God which transcends all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.
Someone close to me was telling me about her “Prayer box”. She described to me the decorative metal box she has in her house that she puts her prayer request in. She writes on a piece of paper prayer requests or things that may be worrying her and then she puts them in the box, lays her hands on the box and prays over them. She told me this, thinking I was going to think she was being silly.
“Oh!” I exclaimed, “Like the prayer necklaces everybody wears.” She didn’t know what I was talking about so I explained.
“People wear these little charms of a box either on a chain around there neck or wrist and they write a prayer request down and put that little piece of paper in that tiny box.”
“Yes” She said, “Just like that”.
I went on to tell her that I thought that was a great idea. We’re constantly told to leave our worries at the altar or at the cross. Well, what exactly does this mean? I’ve been to services before where you literally write your prayer request on a piece of paper, bring it down to the altar where there is a group prayer and then you get up and leave it there. This is literally what God is telling you to do when you read in scriptures “to leave your problems at the cross”. How many of us actually do this? As you’re walking back up the aisle (theoretically speaking) do you feel a sense of freedom or are you constantly thinking about the issue you just supposedly left at the altar, and wondering how God is going to answer that need?
I think this whole prayer box idea gives it a whole new prospective, an analogy that you can actually see working. A few days after this initial conversation with my friend I excitedly told her that I too had found a special box, a beautiful hand carved box that had sentimental value to me. I decided to take my box a step further. I told her I was going to take a verse (Phil. 4: ) and tape it to the inside lid of the box, so each time I put a prayer need in I would remember to leave it there(Present your requests to God), and remember to put my faith to work(The peace of God will guard your heart and mind). I have to be reminded to exercise my faith? Yes, I do. God made me human and a very big human emotion just happens to be worry.
After sharing the verse with my friend she told me that she wasn’t exactly doing that. She was praying over her box daily, rehashing the requests that she had supposedly left at the altar whether she was putting in a new one or not. In other words on a daily basis she was walking back to the cross, (metaphorically of course)picking her requests and worries back up and asking for God’s help in the matter again. We talked about how the box needs to be a visual aid in helping you exercise your faith that God is taking care of your needs, covering you in his peace that he is handling the situation his way, in his timing, and you close the lid and walk away from it knowing these things to be the truth. You are not having positive thoughts, you are not seeking the god inside yourself where all goodness lies, you are taking your request to the one true God, you’re maker, who will supply all your needs, and who loves you more than anyone on this earth ever could. You put your problem in that box, you close the lid, say “OK God thank you for taking care of my needs” you close that lid and you walk away in peace! Why? Because in a lot more places than just Philippians, your bible tells you too and tells you what happens when you do. If you don’t have your own bible please go get one. It truly is the life handbook, not a self help book, but an operators manual from the man who made us.
I know this post is not as light as my usual post, but this is my blog, my thoughts, and God really is foremost in a lot of my thoughts. Here is the most important part. If you have no earthly idea of what I’m talking about, but think it would be a great theory, than I challenge you to do it. Get your box, stick your bible verse in there, and give your problems to God, knowing that he is going to take care of them. You don’t have to be broke or homeless to go to God for help. If you can’t sleep at night, give it to God. If you have a broken heart, give it to God. If your heart hurts and you’re not sure why, give it to God. He wants you to give him all your needs big or small.
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