Philippians 4:6 (NIV) Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.

  1. What is anxiety? How would you define it?
  2. Is anxiety the same as worry, or is this something different?
  3. What are some things that tend to make you anxious?
  4. What harm comes from anxiety?
  5. In this passage, we see a basic principle of discipleship: the Principle of Replacement. What are we to replace anxiety with?
  6. Paul uses this same word in another place, but uses it positively: “Besides everything else, I face daily the pressure of my concern for all the churches.” 2 Corinthians 11:28 (NIV) What is the difference between healthy concern and harmful anxiety?
  7. What is the difference between prayer and petition?
  8. How is life better when it is lived, “with thanksgiving”?
  9. What do you have to be grateful for in your life these days?
  10. Look at the next verse. What good things come from replacing anxiety with prayer and thanksgiving? Have you experienced that?
  11. Think of a prompt—a note on the mirror; changing your computer’s desktop, etc. that would remind you of this truth for the next week.
  12. Pray for one thing in your friend’s life that tends to make them anxious now. Pray with your eyes open.