Fear is an incredibly strong emotion that causes us to act irrationally, such as hoarding toilet paper or selling your stock portfolio in reaction to the unknown and potentially deadly virus. Neither of these reactions are particularly helpful to alleviate fear, they only serve to temporarily provide a sense of “safety.” Even if it is truly the “end of the world,” as we know it, we as followers of Christ need to be reminded that we have citizenship in heaven, and we will go “home” to heaven at the end of time!
If you find yourself consumed with worry and fear of the unknown, I urge you to instead consider the words of the Apostle Paul found in Philippians 4:6-7, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.”
This Scripture gives clear instruction on how to handle worry, and it demonstrates how a relationship with God through Jesus Christ, provides peace and hope. When you have a relationship with someone whom you trust, you generally talk with them about all kinds of things, because you feel safe and trust them to listen to you. As followers of Christ, we have a relationship with him and can talk with him about everything — this is prayer. When we pray, we demonstrate trust that he listens to us, that he cares about us, and that he will answer us. When we engage in these conversations with God, we get to know him more fully. Prayer builds trust and intimacy, just as conversation within relationships often build trust and intimacy.
We can pray about everything because God is trustworthy and I believe he wants us to depend on him for everything, rather than to depend upon ourselves. Trust is the hallmark of this relationship and prayer is the primary way of expressing the trust you have with God.
When the worry begins, say, “Nope. Not today!” Then begin to pray and say, “God I trust you with _______________.” He knows what we need already. He knows all about it, yet I believe he wants us to remember that we are in relationship with him, and he wants to hear from us, and relate to us! What a profound expression of love and trust!
Keep a short list of concerns. When a concern enters your mind, say aloud, “Lord, I need to talk to you about that.” Being a writer, I tend to write out my prayers in a journal. I have written my prayers for decades and if you were to read my journal, you would find prayer for all kinds of issues and for all kinds of people or things. I tell God all about it and thank him for what he has done. This serves as a reminder to me that God listens, God cares and God answers. He does give peace and hope especially as we take him at his word, believe him and actually live in Jesus Christ, rather than live in fear or worry. Living out a relationship with God through prayer has been my lifeline, my stability and my source of hope and peace.
I would love to hear how prayer and a relationship with God has given you hope and peace. Please share in the comments.
Your post today reminds me of a “prayer technique” that I learned from reading the writings of the missionary, Amy Carmichael. It’s short, but works on-the-spot, as needed. For example, if I’m driving and it’s raining, I simply say, “Thy protection, Lord.” When I am tired and have more steps in the day, “Thy help, Lord.” When I’m concerned about finances, “Thy provision, Lord.” Seems to take my focus off the problem, and into immediate conversation with God.
I like that prayer technique. It’s a simple way to connect with God, and as you say, focus on the problem solver, God, and not the problem.