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Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known 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 ESV
At first, this doesn’t look like a promise, it looks like a command. But the promise is there. God’s peace will guard you heart and mind when you pray about everything. Big requests, little requests? It makes no difference. Turn that anxiety into peace that can only come from God. Take every care, every anxiety, every concern to God. As you do that, He will provide you with a peace that others won’t be able to understand.
Combine your requests with thanksgiving. That certainly helps give you a better perspective. When your prayers come from a place of thankfulness for the blessings you have, rather than a desire for more and more or simple dissatisfaction.
Prayer is away of passing on all my anxieties to my Heavenly Father
Think about it this way. It’s like passing all your concerns to your Father who has boundless resources, knowing He will take care of all of them in the way He sees fit and best for you. Then you lie down to sleep at night knowing He is taking care of all of it. The next morning you get up, do the work you have been given to do and He is still taking care of all the issues you have been praying about.
He is the only one with the resources to resolve every problem you bring to Him. He is the only one who never sleeps…ever. He is the only one who’s no self-interest at heart. He cares about you. But He also has all of history in mind as well…including your history and your future. All of these things play into how He will answer your prayer. He is sanctifying you. He also knows that process and where you are in that process.
Do you stop praying? No. But you can stop praying with anxiety…because you know the problem is being taken care of even though it may not get resolved in one or two days.
A quote from Tim Keller on prayer that I have found very true and helpful is this:
“God will answer your prayer the way you ask or the way you would have asked if you knew what He does.”
That about wraps it up, doesn’t it? I can take comfort in the fact that He knows much more about me and my life than I ever will. He knows what is best for me from perspectives I never will have. I can be grateful and can rest in His plan for me, not in a passive way at all. But in a way that is actively trusting and moving ahead, without anxiety or worry because I know He knows what is ahead and will be with me to face it.
I expect to be having the first of 2 cataract surgeries today. Feel free to pray for me. I’m looking forward to having this behind me.
