"Have no anxiety about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which passes all understanding, will keep your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6-7).
These verses are from the letter of St. Paul to the Philippians, which was written when St. Paul was imprisoned, says the website Bible Gateway.
In his letter to the people of Philippi, located in present-day Greece, Paul was "joyful in nature and doesn't harshly rebuke the congregation," said Bible Gateway.
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"The overarching themes of this letter are suffering and joy," said the same website. "Though the letter may seem to emphasize the suffering endured by Paul, his co-workers and the Philippians, it also resonates with tones of joy."
Paul's message to the people of Philippi in these verses provide a valuable lesson on anxiety and prayer, Dr. David Jeremiah told Fox News Digital.
Jeremiah is senior pastor of Shadow Mountain Community Church in El Cajon, California.
He is also the author of more than 50 books.
"The word ‘peace’ occurs over 400 times in the Bible," said Jeremiah.
"Yet how many people do you know who have peace with God, but don’t have the peace of God? They’re filled with anxiety, and they can’t live a day without worry."
This issue, said Jeremiah, is something that everyone must deal with at some point.
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"When Paul tells the church in Philippians, ‘Do not be anxious about anything,’ the word ‘anxious’ literally means to be pulled in two different directions," he said.
"It means to have an inward war going on inside, a battle going on in your spirit, pulling you apart," he said.
Something big enough to worry about is "big enough to pray about," said Jeremiah.
"When Paul writes, ‘Let your requests be made known to God,’ that truly means everything," he added.
"We ought to go to the Father with everything in prayer, and to nothing with anxiety," he said.
Scriptural truth, said Jeremiah, can be a "steadying, encouraging, motivating, purifying and hopeful force" in the modern world, one that is "increasingly chaotic."
"One of the greatest truths of the Bible, and the one that gives me the most peace and hope, is Christ’s return," he said.
"This is something to think about upon rising in the morning and retiring at night."
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Christ's return, he said, "isn't just the light at the end of the tunnel. It's the light that heralds eternity, heaven and the fulfillment of all God has promised His children."
The anticipation of the "second coming" is "our glorious hope in a world filled with hopelessness," he said.
"Our thought life is supposed to be positive, uplifting and redemptive because our thought life is the launch pad for our outward life," said Jeremiah.
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"If you want your mind to be free of anxiety, make determined, definite choices as to what you allow into it."
Humanity, he said, does not need to be anxious or worry, as "there's a bright light on the horizon."
"That is the hope we cling to as followers of Jesus," he said.
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