BETWEEN-SESSIONS PERSONAL STUDY

Session Three

Reflect on the content you’ve covered this week in Anxious for Nothing by engaging in any or all of the following C.A.L.M. personal study guide activities. The time you invest will be well spent, so let God use it to draw you closer to him. At your next meeting, share with your group any key points or insights that stood out during this time spent with the Lord.

CELEBRATE GOD’S GOODNESS

During the teaching session this week, Max focused on presenting our requests to God with thankfulness. Read the following passages about some of the undeserved gifts God has given to his children. Underline the gifts that he promises you in each of the verses below.

And my God will meet all your needs according to the riches of his glory in Christ Jesus. (Philippians 4:19)

The angel of the LORD encamps around those who fear him, and he delivers them. (Psalm 34:7)

My Father’s house has many rooms; if that were not so, would I have told you that I am going there to prepare a place for you? (John 14:2–3)

But the Advocate, the Holy Spirit, whom the Father will send in my name, will teach you all things and will remind you of everything I have said to you. (John 14:26)

Consider the gifts you underlined. Which blessing stirs the most gratitude in your heart today? Why?

[Your Response Here]

Often, we forget that talking to the Creator of the universe is an immeasurable privilege. Read Hebrews 4:14–16. Why do we have free and limitless access to the throne room of God?

[Your Response Here]

Pray

Close your time by remembering the gift of prayer. Although God is a kind and patient Father who always wants to hear our concerns, dedicate this particular prayer time to pure gratitude, rejoicing in who he is. Thank him for what he has given you. Thank him for making a way for his children to personally talk to him anytime, any day, about any problem.

Gratitude is . . . the greatest of virtues. Studies have linked the emotion with a variety of positive effects. Grateful people tend to be more empathetic and forgiving of others. People who keep a gratitude journal are more likely to have a positive outlook on life. Grateful individuals demonstrate less envy, materialism, and self-centeredness. Gratitude improves self-esteem and enhances relationships, quality of sleep, and longevity. If it came in pill form, gratitude would be deemed the miracle cure. It’s no wonder, then, that God’s anxiety therapy includes a large, delightful dollop of gratitude.

—Anxious for Nothing, page 94

ASK GOD FOR HELP

When you are facing a problem, what hurdles tend to keep you from taking it to God first?

[Your Response Here]

Jesus set the perfect example of taking every request to God. Again and again throughout the Gospels, we see him going to a secluded place to pray. Take a couple of minutes to read his prayer to the Father on the night of his arrest recorded in Matthew 26:36–46. What was Jesus’ posture as he prayed? What does this posture say about his attitude toward the Father?

[Your Response Here]

Reread verse 39. What specific words of Jesus prick your heart? Why do these words especially touch you today?

[Your Response Here]

After reading Jesus’ conversation with the Father—his face in the dirt of the Garden of Gethsemane—what do you think the Lord wants to teach you through Jesus’ example? What about Jesus’ prayer do you want to incorporate in your own prayer life?

[Your Response Here]

What does Jesus tell his disciples to do in verse 41?

[Your Response Here]

Jesus warns his disciples that when it comes to temptation, the spirit is willing but the flesh is weak. When it comes to prayer, isn’t the same true? The Holy Spirit within us wants us to remain close to the Father, while our flesh wants to rely on our own strength. Our pride often keeps us from prayer but, as Paul wrote, the Spirit inside of us actually helps us to pray:

In the same way, the Spirit helps us in our weakness. We do not know what we ought to pray for, but the Spirit himself intercedes for us through wordless groans. And he who searches our hearts knows the mind of the Spirit, because the Spirit intercedes for God’s people in accordance with the will of God. (Romans 8:26–27)

Based on this passage from Romans, write down what the Spirit is actively doing in you even when you don’t know the words to pray.

[Your Response Here]

Pray

There is a spiritual battle warring over your prayer life, because the enemy knows how powerful prayer is. So today, ask God to help you overcome any fleshly attitude you have toward prayer. Ask him to help you walk in the Spirit, press into prayer, and believe that it has power.

[Your Response Here]

God doesn’t delay. He never places you on hold or tells you to call again later. God loves the sound of your voice. Always. He doesn’t hide when you call. He hears your prayers. For that reason “be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God” (Philippians 4:6 NKJV). With this verse the apostle calls us to take action against anxiety. Until this point he has been assuring us of God’s character: his sovereignty, mercy, and presence. Now it is our turn to act on this belief. We choose prayer over despair. Peace happens when people pray.

—Anxious for Nothing, page 82

LEAVE YOUR CONCERNS WITH GOD

Have you ever started a sentence with the phrase if only?

If only I could drive a new car instead of this old clunker, then I would be less stressed.

If only I could be married, then I wouldn’t feel lonely.

If only I had more money, then I would be happy.

The if only syndrome can lead you to conclude that the good life is only one purchase away, one romance away, or one promotion away. It’s a lie that can lead you to borrow more money, work long hours, and take unnecessary risks.

The antidote to the if only syndrome is gratitude. Why? Because gratitude forces you to recognize what God has already given to you. While the anxious heart says, “Lord, if only I had this, that, or the other, I’d be okay . . .,” the grateful heart says, “Lord, you’ve already given me this, that, and the other, and I thank you.”

What are the if onlys in your life today? Write each if only in the left column below.

If Onlys

Alreadys

After listing your if onlys, practice what we studied in this session—the powerful heart-changing medicine of gratitude. In the right column above, list your alreadys. How does noting these things change your perspective about your first list?

[Your Response Here]

Take Action!

Take this activity a step further by encouraging someone else. Reach out to a person in your life who is an already—someone who has already loved you or helped you in the past. Let that person know that you are thankful for him or her today.

Pra

For this prayer time, use the words of Paul in Philippians 4:12–13. Fill in the blanks with circumstances or desires that have caused you to be ungrateful and anxious.

I know what it is to be in need, and I know what it is to have plenty. I have learned the secret of being content in any and every situation, whether or , whether or . I can do all this through him who gives me strength.

Leave these circumstances at the feet of the Father and conclude your prayer time by thanking him for your alreadys.

What you have in Christ is greater than anything you don’t have in life. you have God, who is crazy about you, and the forces of heaven to monitor and protect you. you have the living presence of Jesus within you. In Christ you have everything he can give you, a happiness that can never be taken, a grace that will never expire, and a wisdom that will ever increase. He is a fountain of living hope that will never be exhausted.

—Anxious for Nothing, page 99

MEDITATE ON GOOD THINGS

Study Philippians 4:6—“But in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God”—until you can recite it from memory. Don’t forget to memorize the verse reference as well. After you memorize the Scripture, ask the Lord to bring it to mind anytime an anxious thought surfaces.