provided I completely trust in Him.
He will not deem it necessary
to show me just how He will guide me,
but He will give me light for each day.”
Anxiety and stress are not new to mankind. These disabling feelings have always been with us, since the earliest cavemen worried about daily survival, food, shelter, and animal attacks. As civilization developed over the millenniums, new “worries” were added to the list…invading armies, plagues, evil kings or lords, slavery, etc. This constantly changing and compounding list of troubles has become more and more complex until it evolved to today’s list.
Today, we are constantly bombarded with “information overload“, which in itself has become another major source of anxiety and stress. Watching TV, browsing the Internet, listening to the radio, reading the newspapers, or overhearing office conversations pound our senses 24 hours a day with an excess of so-called “news”. We are overloaded from the access to so much information, almost instantaneously, without knowing the validity of the content, the character and credentials of the source, and the risk of misinformation. Anxiety and stress appear to be everywhere, and there are many causes today such as terrorism, wars, employment, personal finances, health issues, social issues, relationships, fear of the unknown, busyness, lack of self-esteem. And there may be many others according to our personal paradigm, the set of experiences, beliefs and values that affect the way we perceive reality and respond to that perception.
A prevailing thought of today is that if we are not living with some kind of anxiety, we are not living in reality. Surely, this is not the kind of reality we want to live in. We want the stress and anxiety of living diminished and managable. How do we achieve this goal?
What is the secret? The way to be anxious about nothing… is to be prayerful about everything! If we just ask, God gives us this secret in the apostle Paul’s letter to the Philippians,
“Do not be anxious about anything,
but in everything, 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.” (Phil. 4:6, 7, NIV)
God’s answer to anxiety is prayer. So, how does prayer make a difference and help us cope? Well, it changes our thought viewpoint, our paradigm —the way we think and perceive things. Anxiety and stress arise when concern and confusion about problems and issues in our lives seem to be out of control. Stress also arises when we develop fear or uncertainty about the future… when we feel unable to control our lives or accomplish needed tasks.
Heartfelt prayer can effectively shift our thoughts from an anxious, stressful state of not knowing or doubting to one of knowing and trusting. Our prayer, if truly from our inner being, brings us a shining, inner light of hope and shows us more clearly than we saw before, what we already have and are, and what is really true. It shows us what God is, everlasting love and salvation.
Through prayer we learn to “trust in the Lord with all your heart and lean not on your own understanding; in all your ways acknowledge him, and he will make your paths straight.” (Proverbs 3:5-6, NIV). If we apply this secret diligently to our lives, we will find our paths through the tangled web of life much straighter, clearer, and easier to follow. So, there you have the secret! God bless… Al
Thanks Al,
I really appriciate your reminding me of these scriptures. Puting them into context and sharing them in a no noncense way that can be realised by this simple application.
Prayer, or fellowship with GOD, talking with him and being his friend was what Adam was placed on earth for. I wonder if that is why this practice has so much of a healing effect.
John, it is Easter Sunday and a great day to reflect on the power of prayer. In his letter to the Philippians (Philippians 4:4-7) the Apostle Paul tells us, “…Always be joyful, then, in the Lord; I repeat, be joyful. Let your good sense be obvious to everybody. The Lord is near. Never worry about anything; but tell God all your desires of every kind in prayer and petition shot through with gratitude, and the peace of God which is beyond our understanding will guard your hearts and your thoughts in Christ Jesus.” The Al-Anon slogan, “Let go and let God” is so true.