A Prayer for When Fear Creeps In
By Alicia Searl
“When I am afraid, I put my trust in you.” - Psalm 56:3
“I’m scared,” I whispered to my husband as we sat in the lobby of a psychologist's office, awaiting our appointment. We were about to bear our hearts and souls to a woman we had never met before. Our hearts were already heavy and utterly raw, feeling as if they had been rubbed by the roughest form of sandpaper. Yet there we sat, waiting for our names to be called, only to openly share the struggles and challenges we had been facing with our daughter over the last two years.
Was this the answer? Would this cause some of the dreaded fear we had been lugging around for so long to finally subside? We had no idea what we were in for. Everything looked bleak, and it felt as if we had been living in a fog. My weary and heavily burdened momma's heart wrestled with what the outcome might look like, wondering if a diagnosis would bring relief or more pain. Would we be judged as ill-fit parents because we somehow failed her? Would we receive news we weren’t going to be able to handle? My husband took my hand and glanced my way to share that he was scared, too.
Fear. Just the sound of the word can strike a chord. That’s because it is such a powerful force. It can either drive us closer to God or cause us to drift away as we clumsily seek comfort and any source of calm.
When fear is stoked within us, our innate and natural response alerts our nervous system, signaling that something is wrong and we must react. Sometimes, that reaction could be coping by reaching for that half-empty bottle or withdrawing from others. Sometimes it causes us to grow angry or plan for the worst, which ends up usually bringing out our worst. Other times, we experience the physical effects of fear with rapid heartbeat and increased breathing.
This is where I found myself. I had succumbed to a place where I physically was unable to fight, and my body was starting to show it. I had chest pain, low energy, and several panic attacks that woke me in a cold sweat many nights. Sadly, this ultimately caused friction in our home and made me completely unable to fight for our daughter.
Then, I was met with the verse found in Psalm 56:3. David, a man who practically seemed immune to fear between fighting a giant and remaining steadfast under constant oppression and trials, openly shares that he is afraid. David, a man known for his bravery and courage, admits he is fearful and can only gain peace by trusting God.
David models for us the way we should respond to fear. And that, my friend, is by trusting God to fight the battle for us! While I am still learning this myself, and continue to fight an internal war on fear, I am reminded that God is not only in this battle with me but fighting for me and my precious daughter.
Oh, darling friend, God is fighting for you too! If you are being choked out by fear and turning to your own devices, will you join me in trusting God and letting Him care for your anxious heart?
Let’s pray:
O God, we are so thankful that You are not only good and gracious to us, but You are our fearless and bold defender. We cannot begin to shower You with enough praise for fighting our battles and restoring peace and calm to our weary souls and anxious hearts. In all honesty, it is so hard to remember this truth. Thank you for the promise of Your presence. You promise to be with us even when we are faced with sabotaging fear. Selfishly, we tend to turn to the things that provide immediate but fleeting relief from the crippling grips of fear. So, we humbly come before You and ask for Your grace and forgiveness where we have not trusted in You. Lord, it is evident that we need Your strength, especially in times of intense fear.
We ask that You would calm the waves in our fearful storms and grant us Your peace and comfort, along with the serenity of still waters only You can give. We know that as we place our trust in You, our fears will not only subside but will offer us a safe refuge to hide as You fight on our behalf. For that, we are so grateful that we serve a loving and fearless God. We love you, Lord and pray that with You on our side, we can live with courage. In Jesus’ name. Amen.
Related Resource: Finding Peace in Anxiety
Fear is real, and it’s because we do have real things to be afraid of. But sometimes, our survival instincts, like fear, can begin to work overtime and unnecessarily become anxiety. In this episode of How to Study the Bible, Nicole unpacks what to do when our fears become anxieties that begin to impact how we make decisions. If you struggle with anxiety, this is a must-listen episode.
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Editor's Note: We're proud to announce we've just launched a new nighttime companion to Your Daily Prayer: the Your Nightly Prayer devotional. You'll soon be able to subscribe to receive Your Nightly Prayer via email, or as a podcast, but for now you can find it on the website at crosswalk.com/devotionals/your-nightly-prayer. We hope it's a relaxing and soothing way to wind down your day with rich meditations on who God is.
Related Resource: Jesus Calling - Stories of Faith
Kerry Washington. Andrea Bocelli. Reba McEntire. Mark Wahlberg. Tony Dungy. Matthew McConaughey, What do all of these people have in common? They are all people of faith who have leaned on God in both the good and challenging times—and they’ve shown up to tell their story of faith on The Jesus Calling Podcast. The Jesus Calling Podcast provides a place for people from all walks of life to share the heartaches, joys, and divine moments that keep them going.
Inspired by Sarah Young's classic devotional book, the Jesus Calling podcast has brought encouragement and peace to millions. New episodes drop every Thursday! Listen today on LifeAudio.com or wherever you find your podcasts.
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