A friend asked a very good question the other day: What do you do when praying seems to increase anxiety?
I think most believers have gone through periods when they were overwhelmed with worry about a loved one or a critical situation threatening their livelihood. Sometimes, we just want to forget about the problem for a few hours or days.
Occasionally, prayer does not bring relief. Instead, we may feel it increases anxiety because a solution seems as far away as ever. Prayer just underlines our helplessness.
The apostle Paul deals with this issue head-on 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."
Of course, Paul's advice not to worry about anything may seem glib when we're deeply preoccupied with our problems. But it isn't when we explore it further.
For Paul, it was a matter of trust. He believed God had his best interests at heart (Romans 8:28). He had a plan for Paul's life and it was a plan for good. Paul also had experience of being rescued by God in past scrapes.
As we're going through heartbreak, it's hard to imagine things working out well at some point in the future. But God sees the big picture - we don't.
Paul's words show that he found release in prayer. He was giving over his troubles to someone who could do more than he could imagine. He was giving it over to God.
Paul found it helpful to give thanks to God for what he had already done. Perhaps he recalled past events when God took him through stonings and imprisonment. Perhaps he recalled his own dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. He had ample proof that God loved him and was pleased with him.
As we thank God, we think of God, not our problems. It helps to strengthen our faith.
The key to getting over the worry barrier is to persist in prayer until we find peace - the peace that Paul talks about.
Terry Laws, author of The Power of Praise and Worship, was bitter about his wife's tragic death in a car accident and questioned God. His mentor Oral Roberts, whose own son had been killed in an accident, told him to praise God.
That seemed ludicrous. But Laws decided to give it a try. He spent hours praising God until he found release in a flood of tears. God poured healing into his spirit and his life and ministry were changed.
Prayer, praise and thanksgiving are God's road to peace of mind.
I think most believers have gone through periods when they were overwhelmed with worry about a loved one or a critical situation threatening their livelihood. Sometimes, we just want to forget about the problem for a few hours or days.
Occasionally, prayer does not bring relief. Instead, we may feel it increases anxiety because a solution seems as far away as ever. Prayer just underlines our helplessness.
The apostle Paul deals with this issue head-on 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."
Of course, Paul's advice not to worry about anything may seem glib when we're deeply preoccupied with our problems. But it isn't when we explore it further.
For Paul, it was a matter of trust. He believed God had his best interests at heart (Romans 8:28). He had a plan for Paul's life and it was a plan for good. Paul also had experience of being rescued by God in past scrapes.
As we're going through heartbreak, it's hard to imagine things working out well at some point in the future. But God sees the big picture - we don't.
Paul's words show that he found release in prayer. He was giving over his troubles to someone who could do more than he could imagine. He was giving it over to God.
Paul found it helpful to give thanks to God for what he had already done. Perhaps he recalled past events when God took him through stonings and imprisonment. Perhaps he recalled his own dramatic conversion on the road to Damascus. He had ample proof that God loved him and was pleased with him.
As we thank God, we think of God, not our problems. It helps to strengthen our faith.
The key to getting over the worry barrier is to persist in prayer until we find peace - the peace that Paul talks about.
Terry Laws, author of The Power of Praise and Worship, was bitter about his wife's tragic death in a car accident and questioned God. His mentor Oral Roberts, whose own son had been killed in an accident, told him to praise God.
That seemed ludicrous. But Laws decided to give it a try. He spent hours praising God until he found release in a flood of tears. God poured healing into his spirit and his life and ministry were changed.
Prayer, praise and thanksgiving are God's road to peace of mind.
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