"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus." Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
My friend is a worrier. In fact she is so good at it, she could be called a professional worrier. When faced with a difficult situation or a potential problem, she can think of every bad scenario that could possibly happen.
She hears about a disagreement between two people and she imagines them fist fighting, breaking up, divorcing, never speaking to one another again. She hears about someone who is struggling financially and she can picture them losing everything they own, walking the streets in rags and begging for food. She learns about someone with an illness and she imagines that they have contracted a deadly disease and will surely die.
All this imagining makes her a nervous wreck. She loses sleep, cries over it and is anxious on a regular basis.
The funny thing is that my friend is a believer...or maybe it's not so funny, because as believers, we are supposed to trust God to care for us. We have been promised that when we pray, God hears us and that we can have what we ask.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14:-15 (NIV)
My friend would be so much better off if she would just take a minute to pray, with confidence that God would intercede in each situation as it arises, then relax, knowing that He has heard her prayers and that He is at work in the circumstances. Then she would be filled with the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.
That's much better than worrying and imagining and fretting and losing sleep and...and...(I could go on and on.)
Prayer:
Lord, teach us to turn to you with every concern of our heart. Teach us not to be anxious, but to come confidently to you, knowing that you hear us and that as we ask according to your will, we can be assured that we will have the things we ask of you. Help us to know your will and to examine our prayers so that they line up with your will, then, Lord, help us to relax and trust that you will take care of things. Fill us with your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen
--------------------------------------------------------
(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
She hears about a disagreement between two people and she imagines them fist fighting, breaking up, divorcing, never speaking to one another again. She hears about someone who is struggling financially and she can picture them losing everything they own, walking the streets in rags and begging for food. She learns about someone with an illness and she imagines that they have contracted a deadly disease and will surely die.
All this imagining makes her a nervous wreck. She loses sleep, cries over it and is anxious on a regular basis.
The funny thing is that my friend is a believer...or maybe it's not so funny, because as believers, we are supposed to trust God to care for us. We have been promised that when we pray, God hears us and that we can have what we ask.
"This is the confidence we have in approaching God: that if we ask anything according to his will, he hears us. And if we know that he hears us—whatever we ask—we know that we have what we asked of him." 1 John 5:14:-15 (NIV)
My friend would be so much better off if she would just take a minute to pray, with confidence that God would intercede in each situation as it arises, then relax, knowing that He has heard her prayers and that He is at work in the circumstances. Then she would be filled with the peace of God, which transcends all understanding.
That's much better than worrying and imagining and fretting and losing sleep and...and...(I could go on and on.)
Prayer:
Lord, teach us to turn to you with every concern of our heart. Teach us not to be anxious, but to come confidently to you, knowing that you hear us and that as we ask according to your will, we can be assured that we will have the things we ask of you. Help us to know your will and to examine our prayers so that they line up with your will, then, Lord, help us to relax and trust that you will take care of things. Fill us with your peace. In Jesus' Name, Amen
--------------------------------------------------------
(Copyright© 2011 Jan Christiansen. All rights reserved.)
