Praying Inside Out
Praying with Paul • Sermon • Submitted
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Intro:
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Tonight, we will continue [Praying with Paul]. The title of my message is, [Praying Inside Out].
As I read through this passage of Scripture, I asked the Lord, what do you want us to see? I pondered on that for some time, and the idea of praying inside out came to me.
We like for people on the OUTSIDE to see the best parts of us. I think about our home or church. The posts, the beams, the trusses, the studs, the insulation, the pipes, or the wiring is all hidden behind drywall.
We then paint the drywall, hang pictures on there and decorate. We want people to see something nice on the outside.
I have been in the attic, it is not the most attractive place to go. But without everything that us up there or behind these walls, we do not have a church.
If there is nothing on the inside, there is nothing to see on the outside.
We can say the same thing about our walk with God. Very often, people show concern about how they look, speak, or live on the OUTSIDE!
While that is important, God is equally if not more concerned about what takes place on the INSIDE.
Therefore, in our walk with God, it is not about moving from the OUTSIDE—IN but the INSIDE—OUT.
As Paul concludes his letter to the Philippians, he takes a moment to share some key instructions that will assist us in our lives. If we have a solid relationship with Jesus INTERNALLY, then people OUTSIDE will take notice.
Our relationship with God should grow from the inside out.
So how does Inside out Praying work? Let’s look at three internal events that happen to us— [Internal Praise], [Internal Problems], and [Internal Peace].
Let’s begin
1. Internal Praise
1. Internal Praise
4 Rejoice in the Lord always. Again I will say, rejoice!
The focus of Paul’s letter was on joy. He wanted the Philippians to have joy. So he tells them to rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS. Again I say rejoice.
Notice Paul’s instructions, rejoice in the Lord ALWAYS.
God desires to give us joy, for us to live a cheerful life and let the joy of God overflow in and through us.
We sing the song— I’m rejoicing night and day as I walk the narrow way.
I wonder what would happen if we actually lived this way? Internally taking time to praise God an rejoice in all that He does for us?
To rejoice means to be in a state of joy and well being.
Websters 1828 dictionary defines rejoicing—To experience joy and gladness in a high degree; to be exhilarated with lively and pleasurable sensations; to exult.
How do we rejoice? How do we experience joy and gladness in our lives?
One of the ways to stir up the joy of the Lord in our lives is to live in a state of praise to God. Regardless of what we face on the outside, God wants to give us joy on the inside.
We should find ways to praise God throughout each day.
It can be for something simple or something huge. It does not matter, but we should live in a state of internal praise.
What will that accomplish on the outside?
5 Let your gentleness be known to all men. The Lord is at hand.
The gentleness of God will shine through.
5 Let everyone see that you are considerate in all you do. Remember, the Lord is coming soon.
If we live in a state of joy, we will have concern for others around us. We will possess a gentle spirit.
Gentleness in the original language refers to a spirit that is reasonable, fair-minded, charitable, and considerate.
Imagine how different our world would like if more people had a gentle spirit.
It can happen through us, from the inside out— REJOICING every day and letting the gentleness of God flow OUT of us to others.
Who wants to live this way?
It is not really an option— for the Lord’s coming is at hand.
2. Internal Problems
2. Internal Problems
6 Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God;
What a tall order— be anxious in nothing or in other words don’t worry about anything.
At first glance we might wonder, did Paul live in the same world as us? Obviously not! He did not have to worry about:
rising costs
violence
empty shelves
social media
But God never changes. So if God told Paul to tell the Philippians do not worry or grow anxious, God wants us to hear this passage.
Each of us face internal problems. We all go through situations and wonder, how will I get through this?
Personally, this is a passage that I have memorized and quote to myself whenever I face something that is too hard for me to handle.
Be anxious in nothing, that is the internal issue. How do we handle our internal problems? Through prayer and supplication with thanksgiving. Let’s look at these words.
Prayer— we need to communicate with God EVERY DAY! Prayer is a part of the Christian experience and should be as important to us as praising and rejoicing.
But what happens when an urgent need arises?
Prayer is a general term that means to have a conversation with God but supplication is about a specific need or request.
I will give an example, before we were expecting with Davis, we prayed for the children God would give us. We prayed for Davis while Bekah carried him and we pray for him every day. We have continuous conversations with God about our son.
But when he had Covid/Croop, with a 105 fever in the middle of snow storm— we moved beyond prayer and into supplication. We needed God to keep us safe RIGHT THEN. We needed God to touch his body RIGHT THEN.
When we face internal problems we need prayer AND supplication with thanksgiving! Giving God praise, out loud, for what He has done and will do.
So think of it this way— praising God inside will lead us to treat others out there in a gentle way
problems that occur inside will cause us to make prayer and supplication out there with thanksgiving.
3. Internal Peace
3. Internal Peace
7 and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
One author defines peace this way:
Freedom from war with a foreign nation; public quiet.
Freedom from internal commotion or civil war.
Freedom from private quarrels, suits or disturbance.
Freedom from agitation or disturbance by the passions, as from fear, terror, anger, anxiety or the like; quietness of mind; tranquillity; calmness; quiet of conscience.
(Webster 1828 Dictionary)
Who wouldn’t love a life filled with peace like this?
If we live a life of internal praise, rejoicing in God always, despite our internal problems, God can give us internal peace.
Notice the progression. Praise inside gentleness outside
Problems inside prayer and supplication outside
Peace inside gaurd our heart and mind outside.
While people cannot see our heart or our mind, they experience the effects of our heart and mind.
If we have a hard heart, people can tell
If we have a soft heart, people can tell
If we have a closed mind, people can tell
If we have an opened mind, people can tell
27 Peace I leave with you, My peace I give to you; not as the world gives do I give to you. Let not your heart be troubled, neither let it be afraid.
When the peace of God lives in our life, then He will answer the questions that fill our hearts and mind, literally guarding us.
Often when we think peace, we imagine no problems. But that is impossible. Because of the fallen nature of our world, problems will always exist.
As one author explained,
Peace is not the absence of trouble, but the presence of Jesus.
(David Jeremiah).
Therefore, when we begin to feel an absence of peace, that is the time to begin to rejoice in the Lord.
No peace, let’s continue to pray and move onto supplication.
If we will trust God, He only needs to speak the word and He can and will give us peace.
Close:
Praying inside out. The closer I get to Jesus the more I realize how He wants us to grow in Him.
Our walk with God is not about what happens to us. Instead, we should focus on what happens in us.
Throughout life we will always have times of happiness and sadness problems and answers peace and disturbance
Our goal is to live in such a way where what happens within US is stronger that what takes place around us.
4 You are of God, little children, and have overcome them, because He who is in you is greater than he who is in the world.
So tonight, as we pray with Paul, I want us to ask God to do something WITHIN us that will help us.
Let’s start to praise God and rejoice in the Lord every day
when we do, we will find that we are gentle and considerate
Let’s take our problems to Him
and begin to engage in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
Let’s live in the realm of God’s peace
knowing His presence is there and watch as He gaurds our heart and minds