Let’s learn to pray more, and worry less! I hope this Bible journaling tutorial on Philippians 4:6-8 will remind you to give all your concerns to the Lord, and replace those worrisome thoughts with His promise of faithfulness and provision.
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Have you ever caught yourself worrying about something, so much that you end up in a downward spiral of negative thoughts?
It’s more than just worrying, say, how in the world you’ll get through a difficult day. I’m talking about when we turn legitimate concerns, and spin them out of proportion.
For example: I worry that I’m running late, and therefore I might not get everything done that I had planned too, and therefore the world will fall apart at the seams. Sure, some things may have to be pushed back to tomorrow, but isn’t God in control of my journey, my mistakes, my time? Certainly YES! Then why do I fret about it so much, like I think that it’s all up to me?
I’ve noticed myself doing this a lot, in recent days. And so, I decided now is a fantastic time to revisit the classic verses on prayer and thinking, in Philippians 4:6-7 (and also, 8). Never mind that I practically have them memorized…clearly I need to work on putting them into practice!
If you’re like me, and you also feel the need for more praying and less worrying in your life, I want to encourage you to take Philippians 4:6-7, as well as verse 8, and spend some time meditating on it. Pray over it, take notes on it, and create a Bible journal page about it. Do whatever you need to, so you’ll remember it and learn to apply it in your life.
Philippians 4:6-8 :: Pray more, worry less, think positive…
I did this Bible journaling entry a little over three years ago, and I imagine I’ll be referring back to it for the rest of my life! It’s such a great Scripture to live by (okay, so all Scripture is great to live by, but this is definitely a favorite). If you’re not yet familiar with this passsage, here’s a breakdown…
Philippians 4:6-7
“Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, through prayer and petition, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”
In short, Paul is saying ‘don’t worry, just pray; let everything rest in God’s hands’. Pray more, worry less! But, he doesn’t stop there…
Philippians 4:8
“Finally, brothers and sisters, whatever is true, whatever is noble, whatever is right, whatever is pure, whatever is lovely, whatever is admirable—if anything is excellent or praiseworthy—think about such things.”
You know when you try to let your worries go, but then you still worry anyway? I think this is the solution. Paul says we’re to trust God with our concerns, and then devote our thoughts towards positive things…
Worrying about tomorrow? Dwell on the fact that God is working all things for your good (Romans 8:28). Fretting about something you screwed up on yesterday? Rejoice that you are forgiven, and that every day you are being made new in Christ (2 Corinthians 5:17).
In fact, I think that’s what I need to work on most: After I’ve prayed about it, I need to stop the continuing spiral of negativity, by replacing thoughts of worry with thoughts of God’s goodness, mercy, sovereignty, provision, promises, love, and more.
“Pray More, Worry Less” Bible Journal
To create your own version of the “pray more, worry less” journal page, use this basic step-by-step process. Of course, you have total creative freedom to do what you want, use what colors you want, or choose different words, but this is what I did:
1) I started by prepping my Bible page with clear gesso, so I could use my Faber-Castell metallic gelatos to create a shimmery background. With an Illustrating Bible, you could skip the gesso step, since the pages are thicker, but for a normal journaling Bible I definitely recommend applying gesso first.
2) For the metallic gelatos, there are lots of ways you can apply them, but what I usually do is smear some of the color onto a paint palette, and then spritz with water. That way, I can pick up the color with a paintbrush and paint it onto the Bible page. I covered pretty much the entire page with white shimmer, and then added the light green shimmer on top. I also embellished the green swirls with a neon green gel pen. (I know it’s hard to see the shimmer in the photos, but I promise it’s much prettier in person!)
3) Stamps, stamps, stamps! First, the word “pray” came from a Sweet’n’Sassy Stamps set, and then I wrote the “more” and “worry less” parts with gel pen. The stamp set I used is no longer available, but SnSS does have several other sets that contain the word “pray”, such as this one.
4) The flowers on this page (in the center, and the big one in the margin) are from the Hero Arts layering flowers stamp set. This set is so neat, because it lets you create a multi-color image; for the big flower in the margin, I stamped the base layer in pale pink, the middle layer in hot pink, and the top layer in purple.
5) Lastly, I added some extra embellishments with gel pens. Y’all, gel pens are so handy! I used a different color to underline each verse—pink for verses 4/5, blue for verse 6, and purple for verse 8. The pink decoration just above “pray”, and the date below the big flower are also gel pen.
Going Forward…
I want to make sure I remember to “think about such (positive) things”, so I’m going to write Philippians 4:8 down on a few sticky notes, and put them on my bathroom mirror and in my car. Especially since I don’t yet have that verse committed to memory, as I do verses 6-7, so that should help me memorize it too.
What will you do today, to remind yourself to pray more and worry less?
Hi! Thank you so much for visiting Divine Creative Love. I’m a Jesus-lovin’ girl, lettering artist, designer, and general creative-at-heart. And, I have narcolepsy. I blog about faith in God, overcoming challenges, and creative topics such as Bible journaling. If you’re new here, be sure and subscribe to my list so you won’t miss anything!