A Prayer for Transforming Worry into Trust
By Alisha Headley
Bible Reading
“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 surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus”. - Philippians 4:6-7
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It’s hard not to worry in the world that we live in. The way our world is divided by race, religion, and political views leads us to worry about our safety or financial situation. It’s hard not to worry about your future for yourself or for your kids when what you see looks hopeless. As humans, we are so tied to outcomes. Knowing how things will work out gives us security, and we want to know the outcome. The problem with this is most outcomes, we don’t know and won’t know, so we spend countless days and sleepless nights worrying when worrying does nothing for us. In fact, worrying does nothing to benefit our lives in any way; it only takes away. It takes away the present moments and present joy you could experience, not to mention it takes away from a peaceful life. Jesus Himself asks His followers in Matthew 6:27, “Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?” He then continues in verse 34, saying, “Don’t worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will bring its own worries. Today’s trouble is enough for today.”
Worrying does not add anything to your life, nor does it change the outcome. So, how can we take this worry and turn it into trust? Today’s scripture verse tells us not to be worried or anxious but that through prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, we can come before God with our worries. When we do this through prayer as well as thanksgiving, we are then overwhelmed with a peace that passes all our understanding. That peace will cover all our worries when we bring them to the throne of God and trust Him. What a beautiful tradeoff – praying and bringing our requests to God, and in turn, we receive a peace that surpasses our understanding and the worries we face.
Let’s Pray:
Dear God,
You are a good God, and you offer us peace whenever we want it. We thank you, Lord, for this beautiful promise of peace in today’s Scripture. Lord, our hearts are heavy with worry today. We are worried about what could happen and what did happen, and how things will turn out. Father, we need you. Thank you for your Word that reminds us that worrying does nothing for us and we simply can come to you and cast all our worry to you and receive your peace. Forgive us for all the days and hours we wasted worrying and not trusting you. Reveal to us what we are not trusting you with so we are not tempted to try to control it ourselves and add more worry to our lives. Thank you that although you might not change our outcome right away, you can change the way we are living within our circumstances by overwhelming us with your peace. Thank you for your peace that will guard our hearts and minds to not worry. Thank you that we can trust in you for everything. We love you and thank you for promises throughout the Bible like that one you reminded us of today.
In Jesus’ mighty name, amen
Photo credit: ©Unsplash/Hean Prinsloo
Alisha Headley is a writer + speaker who has a desire to meet the everyday woman in her everyday life with biblical truth. Stepping into her true calling, she left the corporate world behind as a former-financial VP to love on her family as a stay-at-home wifey + dog mama, while also being able to pursue her passion as a writer. Healing from a chapter of life consumed with lies she once believed about herself, she is inspired to point women to Christ to experience the freedom + power to overcome those lies with the truth written in God’s word. In her free time, Alisha enjoys road trips around the country, working out so she can eat her favorite foods, and creatively styling her outfits with a craft for fashion. Alisha is a proud wifey and dog mama living in Scottsdale, Arizona.
You can follow her blog by visiting her website or connect with her on facebook + instagram.
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