Connecting Prayer to Anxiety
“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
Sunday morning’s sermon was one of those messages I needed to hear as much as, if not more than, anyone else in the congregation. Like the rest of you, I could do with more prayer and less anxiety in my life. Over the last few days, as I have continued to mull this message over in my mind, I have gained some more insight into this text (and my own heart) that I would like to share with you this morning.
First, I think I have always read this text like this: “STOP BEING ANXIOUS ABOUT ANYTHING, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.” As a result, my efforts to combat anxiety tend to focus on trying to quell anxious thoughts, when the answer is always to give them to God. Peace never exists in a vacuum. When we cast anxiety out, we have to pray God into the void left behind.
How do we go about doing that? Vocalizing your worries Godward is an important first step, but we mustn’t end there. Fleshing out worries in detail can sometimes leave a person feeling worse because it brings to mind all their troubles. The key to dealing with anxious thoughts is the additional step of connecting some aspect of God to your worries and connecting your worries to some aspect of God— His character, His presence, His providence, or His promises.
Consider with me how that might work in practice. Let’s say you find yourself worrying about your relationship with a colleague at work. What do you do? First of all, you flesh out exactly what it is about this relationship that has you so upset. Perhaps your colleague is criticizing you behind your back to your boss and peers. Clearly this situation involves details that need to be parsed out. Are you sure this is happening? Perhaps you are just being paranoid? Talk it through with God, and remember: just because you're paranoid doesn’t mean they’re not out to get you!
It might be good to spend time before God meditating on Psalm 139, asking God to search your heart. Is your conscience clean towards this person? Are you aware of anything you might have done to offend them? On the other hand, of course, there are many other possible explanations for this behavior. Maybe they misunderstood your intentions, your words, or your actions and took offense. Perhaps your personalities clash and they don’t warm to you. Their behavior may also have a darker explanation, but it is best not to start there and you should never assume malice without clear evidence. All that can be given to God with gratitude for the many promises that clearly apply to this situation: Romans 8:28-39; Matthew 28:20; Jeremiah 29:11-13, etc.
You are probably worrying about the damage their behavior has done, not to mention how best to respond. The first part of this equation is largely out of your hands, but Psalms 27, 31, and 37 are an excellent resource to help organize your thoughts and concerns. They will also help ground your soul in the moment and put you in a much healthier frame of mind.
When it comes to praying for guidance, I find the following Scriptures helpful: Psalm 16 (especially verses 7 and 8); Psalm 37:3-6; Proverbs 16:3; Daniel 2:20-22; and Proverbs 3:5-6. Praying like this– conscious that God holds the hearts of all firmly in His hand, that He is for me and not against me, and that He will watch over my going out and my coming in– tends to leave me in a much better place at the end of my prayers than I was when I began.
In conclusion, then, when you pray about your worries, don’t just list them; connect them to God’s character, presence, providence, and promise. Then, whatever you have to face in life, you will feel that you will not have to face it alone. Herein lies the principal benefit prayer brings to the harried soul.