A Prayer to Ease Worry
By Alicia Searl
“Peace I leave with you; my peace I give you. I do not give to you as the world gives. Do not let your hearts be troubled and do not be afraid.” - John 14:27
Worrying and fretting about “stuff” is a constant inner battle for me. I will easily go down a “rabbit hole,” only to be flooded with anxiety within minutes. While I know this about myself, I still tend to do it. I crave to understand and make sense of the information at hand. However, that being said, anxiety will creep in at the oddest of times, catching me off guard.
The other day while at the grocery store, worry came on rather strong, as in a full-blown panic mode, right in the middle of the produce aisle. I remembered the food blog I had been following and their advice (or rather warning) against various dies and chemicals that are being injected into our food, and - I froze. Anxiety began to choke out any clarity as the grocery store begin to spin, and all these dreadful thoughts began to plague my mind. Fortunately, I managed to make it quickly out of the store in order to catch my breath. But I still grew worrisome about how I was going to provide healthy meals to my family on a budget no less!
Honestly, it's easy to worry these days, especially with the news at our fingertips and a steady constant stream of information at our disposal. While there are wonderful benefits to being online, like having the luxury of ordering something just to have it delivered within hours (or minutes sometimes), or the ability to track our children, or connect with others, there are also many hidden dangers. Dangers that can lead our hearts and minds astray, all while encouraging our worry and fear to manifest.
Friend, if worry is gripping your heart, and it is leading you down a dark path, may I remind you that we aren’t meant to carry the weight of this world. Our minds, hearts, and physical bodies will literally collapse under such weight. That’s because we were never meant to withstand the constant knowledge we are submerged in daily (Ecclesiastes 1:18). While we are to seek wisdom, we must control what we ingest by guarding our hearts and minds.
The truth of the matter is that our hearts will be troubled in this life. We will encounter trials of all sorts; we can be certain of that (1 Peter 4:12-14). But, we have hope as believers that tucked within our worry is a pathway to peace. We are called to stand firm in that Truth!
Let’s pray:
Heavenly Father,
You are a God of peace. We are so thankful that You give us the ability to come to You with our troubles, worries, and concerns, and You lovingly grant us a peace that goes beyond our own understanding.
While we know we will come into places that bring on fear and worry, we ask that You stay with us and draw us close. Remind us that You will see us through. Be our safety net in times that bring on confusion and lead our hearts back to the promises found throughout Your Word. We invite You to help us see areas in our lives in which we need to create safeguards for our hearts and minds. Guide and urge us to focus on what is pure, wholesome, and righteous.
Lord, please give us a calm spirit as well when we receive troublesome news. Help us find resourceful ways to heal our anxious hearts. Give us the will to seek Your wisdom in these times and pour Your unfailing love upon us. When our hearts want to wander off the pathway to fear and worry wants to consume us, give us the courage to seek You and give us discernment. Help us trust You alone and remember that You have a special plan and purpose for our lives. We know we were created for such a time as this and want to glorify You! So, we ask that You be with us during these rather strange times and plant a sense of peace that will carry us through.
We ask this in Jesus' name. Amen.
Photo credit: ©GettyImages/tommaso79
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