What do You Worry about?
In my life, I have worried a lot and have used prayer against worry. When I was a child, I worried about the environment of my alcoholic family. My prayers were soothing and helped me feel loved. I worried if I would be accepted by my peers. I knew I wasn’t accepted at school, but I knew through scripture and prayers that I was accepted by the Creator of the Universe. As I grew into my twenties, I worried about money, my job, how to drive fast without getting caught or at least how to talk my way out of a ticket, as well as my looks and the power my new looks had over men. God was there with me every step of the way.
As the years progressed, I began worrying about bigger situations. Will this prayer against worry still work? I worried about the bouts of depression that left me paralyzed, the mania that caused my blood pressure to rise out of control, and the rage that sent me to self-imposed time out at work before I would explode into a million pieces. The prayer against worry seemed to still work because I was able to get up each and every day and pull myself out of bed even when I had no strength or energy to do otherwise. Even though my marriage seems to be strong, there is always that worry that one day it will slip away into thin air. So I pray against worry and everything including the kitchen sink. The lack of friendships in my life is a hard worry to pray against. I want friends, but I also suffer from debilitating social anxiety. I am caught somewhere in the middle most of the time. And I still worry about how to drive fast without getting caught. I am not as young and cute as I used to be, so I will have to elude the police instead of counting on talking my way out of the ticket or traffic school.
We all worry about something. Yours could be like mine, bipolar. Or it could be an empty nest. A recent job loss. A drug addicted son or daughter. An alcoholic spouse. A broken friendship. Cancer. Diabetes. Triple bypass surgery. A failed adoption attempt. Or ________________. Fill in the blank with your own worry.
What is the Solution to Worry?
What do you do with all that worry? You can worry about it until the day you die, with heads full of grey hair or falling out and skin as wrinkled as a relief map, but that does not sound like the life to live. I do not want ulcers and insomnia, either. Somebody along the way may have offered they would pray for you or encouraged you to pray. I say, not a bad idea.
King Hezekiah of Judah during the time of the Old Testament, was about to be attacked by King Sennacherib. If you were in King Hezekiah’s shoes, would you be worried? King Sennacherib had a reputation of being a great conqueror. King Hezekiah took his worry about the impending attack to the temple and spread it out before the Lord. The king lifted up his request to the Almighty God.
Do you think God turned His back on him? Laughed and said “You got yourself into this mess, now get yourself out of this mess”? Or “I am too busy”? No! The prophet Isaiah gave Hezekiah the message from the Lord: “Because you prayed about King Sennacherib of Assyria, the Lord has spoken” (Isaiah 37:21-22 NLT). The Bible says that the Assyrians did not even get to shoot an arrow! How cool is that? God took care of His people because someone prayed for them.
Now, God does not answer prayers all the same way. He might not reunite you with your estranged children. Your marriage might not reconcile. You might get a pink slip. The cancer might come back terminal. The diabetes might take your eyesight. Your house might foreclose. But, what God may choose to do is walk with you through the worry and the storm that comes out of it. Bottom line, He is not going to leave you!
My Prayer against Worry Experience
I have cried out to Him so many times to take away the anxiety that cripples me or the depression that crushes me or the mixed episodes that exhaust me. Majority of the time, he takes my hand or places an arm around my shoulder so I can easily fold into His chest and cry. He simply walks with me, lovingly, patiently, as my Father and my Friend. In the shadow of His presence, the anxiety, depression or mixed episodes fade away
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
This is a great blog post on praying and fear. I encourage you to read it when you have time.
http://proverbs31.org/devotions/devo/why-i-stopped-praying-against-fear/
Here are 20 verses you can focus on when you feel fear or worry:
http://www.catholic.org/news/hf/faith/story.php?id=59040