Anxiety And Prayer
ANXIETY AND PRAYER
PHILIPPIANS 1:12-14
Being in prison actually helped Paul’s sharing of the gospel instead of hindering it.
The anxiety of the Philippians for Paul’s welfare is understandable. His circumstances had changed. No longer was he allowed the relative freedom of living in his own hired house in Rome (Acts 28:16,23,30f.). He had recently come to trial in connection with his appeal to Caesar and was currently in prison awaiting the verdict. The decision, once reached, was beyond appeal; he would either be released or sentenced to death (1:7,13,16,19-26; 2:17). Paul was not deceived about the seriousness of the moment, nor was he unappreciative of his friends’ concern (see 4:14). Yet the appropriate response to anxiety was—and remains—a quiet reliance on God expressed through prayer (1:19; 4:6).
Paul has peace of mind, for behind the troubles that have happened to him he can discern the hand and purpose of God. His altered circumstances had actually served to advance the gospel (1:12). During the course of his trial it had become known to the whole imperial guard (Caesar’s elite troops) and to all associated with his case that his imprisonment was due to his bold witness for Christ, not for a criminal offense (1:13). Moreover, as a direct result of his defense of the gospel, local believers were proclaiming Christ with greater boldness (1:14). Their number included slaves and freedmen attached to the emperor’s residence (4:22). In this turn of events Paul saw the affirmation of the principle he had expressed earlier in a letter to Rome: “In everything God works for good with those who love him, who are called according to his purpose” (Romans 8:28). He knew from his own experience that Christians do not live “under the circumstances” but above them!