Philippians 4

List below the problems you have found in Philippians 3.

Review the instructions in Studies Two and Three on writing the application. If you do not already have a verse in mind for your application, go through the chapter and choose the one you need most. Write your application in three parts: What does the passage teach? How does my life compare to this? What can be done about it? Be specific, and personal—with I, me, my.

Can you recall the contents and main points of Chapters 1-3 without looking back? Try it; then review them from your studies before starting Chapter 4. Notice that each chapter is somewhat independent of the others. Yet notice how Jesus Christ is the focal point in each chapter of this warm personal letter.
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Read this chapter straight through several times, then again slowly with meditation. Use scratch paper to jot down any application possibilities or problems as you notice them.

Again analyze the chapter by summary outlining or by making a regular outline.
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For a summary outline, follow the pattern of the three preceding studies. Divide the chapter into sections, write a title and a summary for each section … or summarize the chapter first (average 4-8 words per verse) and then add titles for the sections.
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If you choose to outline Philippians 4, try making your own outline, then compare it with the parts of the chapter outlined on the next page. This time the sample outline is less detailed than the one on page 21. You may want to expand it as you copy your final outline into the book. Or you may decide to follow the briefer pattern for the whole chapter.

Sample outline of Philippians 4:1-7
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A.  Be steady and unified (1-3)
    1. Stand firm in the Lord
    2. Help others
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B.  Be prayerful and virtuous (4-7)
    1. Rejoice and be forbearing
    2. Pray about everything

Record your problems for Philippians 4. You may want to write an occasional problem as you work on the other parts of the study; or you may prefer to do the problems all at one time. Keep in mind that prayer and continued reflection on the chapter are important ways to find answers.

Choose several outstanding verses in Chapter 4. Find cross references for them which contain a parallel truth or example of the thought you are cross referencing.

Again choose a verse for application from a list you have made, or from a review of the chapter. Write your application in three parts as you have been doing—the truth to apply, the way it presently relates to you, and your plan of action.
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Make the third step practical and definite. How you do this will depend on what your need is and what the Lord impresses on your heart to do about it. But be honest. Don't write an application to please or impress someone else.
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Always pray about your application—before you write it, and afterwards as you seek to apply it in practice. Self-effort is powerless to change your life—it is God Who works the transformation in you (Philippians 2:13).
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In developing the action step of your application, there are different kinds of projects you can record:
1  Action to be taken right away—not a long-term application but one attainable within a few days—or at least a specific part of it to be accomplished soon (see sample applications on pages 13-14 and 18-19). Sometimes it helps to make a memo and check up on yourself later to see if you have taken the action you felt the Lord wanted you to.
2  A new attitude about God or one of His principles (example below). Here it's good to be specific about what your new attitude should be, and to put it on your prayer list for extra prayer.
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Sometimes a practical reminder is to memorize the application verse. Reviewing the verse both recalls God's will and prompts you to pray.

Sample application on an attitude

Application verse and application for Philippians 4