We continue this week in the series Following Jesus, focusing more on how prayer is an essential piece of the armor of God and how we can apply it to our lives. Before we begin, let’s start with a prayer.
Heavenly Father, we praise You and thank You for Your presence in our lives. I pray that we learn and understand the integral part prayer can have in our lives and that we can make prayer a habit. Amen.
Philippians 4:6-7 (NLT)
6 Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need and thank Him for all He has done. 7 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.
Take a moment to reflect on these two verses. How do they resonate with you? What thoughts do you have about them? Paul acknowledged the worries and anxieties we experience and gives us the solution: pray about everything. In other words, give everything to God! Do you talk to God about everything on your heart?
It sounds so simple, yet it can seem so difficult in practice. I’ll be the first to admit that I’m guilty of not praying about every anxiety I experience. I try to control things I cannot, trying not to burden God with my small inconveniences, which ultimately ends in an unrelenting struggle for control and increased anxiety. However, every single time I have prayed for peace over my anxieties, God has provided an overwhelming sense of His presence and peace.
It can feel silly to talk to God about every item on our hearts. It can feel vulnerable to say things aloud and give life to them. It can be difficult to engage in prayer over perceived small things because God already knows what we’re going through. But this is part of our blessing when we are in a relationship with Him. He wants us to come to Him and trust that He will quell our anxieties!
I challenge you to talk to God about everything on your heart—no matter how small things may seem. Start now. Even if you don’t know how, just talk to Him. Feel free to use the following prompts to help guide you:
God, lately, I have been feeling...
God, please provide peace to me. I’m currently worried about...
I pray you seek out God and trust that He can and will provide peace in times of worry. I pray that if you don’t currently have a habitual prayer relationship with God, you are able to start one and that anything in your heart you give to God.