Saint Paul's urges us, "Rejoice in the Lord always," He coontinues, "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." Do this, Paul says, "and the peace of God ... will guard your hearts and minds in Christ Jesus."
We could label Saint Paul's listing in Philippiansas "Don't worry, be happy," probably a reference to the Bobby McFerrin song of the same name.
We doubt, however, that Paul intended his words to be taken in such a carefree and silly way as that song intended. Saint Paul wasn't urging his readers to be mindlessly happy; he was telling them to "rejoice in the Lord," to be in touch with the One from whom real peace and well-being flows. When he spoke of letting our requests be known to God in prayer, he was not prescribing some kind of quick-fix formula or talking in prayer as a tool for feeling better; rather he was pointing his readers toward the One who hears our prayers and loves us. And when Saint Paul talked of the peace of God, he wasn't referring to the state of being without concerns, but to the state of being in harmony with God and the order God has built into our world.
