Are you worried? Pray about it!

If after praying, your emotions are still in turmoil – pray more. By cultivating the discipline of frequent prayer, you’ll discover the ability to remain calm and quiet. As you wait before the Lord, you’ll find relief from fear’s grip on your spirit. You might be tempted to think your prayer was ineffective, or you somehow failed because your anxiety returned – perhaps as soon as you said ‘Amen’. Just take persistent anxiety as a signal that you need more time with God; reviewing all the details of your problem, telling Him how much it plagues you, and sometimes even admitting that you’re afraid He won’t handle it soon enough. Having a deep, persistent concern for a problem isn’t the same as worry. Worry is choosing to fret instead of turning it completely over to God. So if you tend to worry a lot, pray a lot. Pray, ‘Lord, this is Your problem to fix. You take control. Let me know what You want me to do if I’m to be involved in the solution. By leaving it with You, I’ll consider it solved.’ At that point discipline your mind not to worry, and not to continue seeking answers or trying to find the solution. You have solved the problem by giving it to God, and your major responsibility now is to wait for His leading. When He wants you to act, He will make it clear. As you wait before Him, He will direct your thoughts to the next step you should take. And if there’s nothing He leads you to do – do nothing more. He will take it from there.

Prayer Point

Father, when a crisis comes, I often feel overwhelmed by panic. Help me to increase my trust in You so that when those feelings rise up, instead of being swamped by them, I remember to simply run to You and pour out every fear. Thank You that You’re there to bear my burdens and take the weight of worry from me. In Jesus’ name, Amen.

Swindoll, Charles R., The Owner’s Manual for Christians (Nashville, TN: Thomas Nelson, 2009), 95-96.