Prayer Calms Me
Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6
What does it take to calm you down when you get upset or anxious about something. Perhaps you make yourself a cup of hot green tea. Maybe you sit out on the front porch in a rocking chair until you rock your issues away. Maybe you run or walk, paint the house or mow the lawn. We all have our little things we do when we feel anxious. If we don’t, then we freak out until we accept the issue or until things change.
Paul had advice of a different kind. Pray! He encourages us to be thankful. Yes, thankful for whatever the issue is. That could pose another issue in itself if we do not understand it. You see, Paul understood something that many of us cannot wrap our mind around. God allows us to go through trials from time to time because it helps us. It makes us grow and makes us stronger. Actually, when you find yourself in a trial, you should realize that God is complimenting you on your faith. For Him to allow a trial in your life speaks volumes. It says that He believes in you and He knows that you will come through in flying colors!
So, what should we do? Should we freak out and bury our heads in the sand? Or, should we take a calming moment of prayer? “Don’t be anxious,” he says. “Pray.”
You see, when we pray in thanksgiving about the issues at hand, it is as if we are agreeing with God. “Yes Sir, God. I understand that this will make me stronger and better and I accept your confidence in me while I am going through this.”
Man, wouldn’t that change our mind set? Trials are never fun. Neither is going to the dentist. But, sometime we need something pulled in our life to make us better.
So, let’s pray with a smile instead of a frown because God is counting on us. Then we can say, “Let me pray about it. It calms me.”