Don’t Worry, Pray!

Why should we pray? There are many things I could say in response, but here is one reason why:

Prayer is the way by which God helps us to overcome our anxiety and worry.

We all know that life is full of troubles. We all struggle with concerns about our health, safety, family, finances, etc. In light of that, what should we do? Answer: Pray!

It’s been said, "If your knees are shaking, kneel on them! So, the next time you are suddenly gripped with worry, turn it into a prayer.

The apostle Paul reminds us, "Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6–7).

Notice that Paul doesn’t say, "Pray about everything . . . if you do this, your problems will go away." Rather, it says, "If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand."

Now that is not to say that God cannot or will not remove your problem (or problems) because He sometimes does just that. But often, He will give us His strength and peace in the midst of the problem. In other words, we are able to put things into the proper perspective.

If you have a "big God"—by which I mean that you see God for who He really is—you will have "small problems."

It comes down to this:

• Big God, small problems
• Big problems, small God