You, at any moment, can turn to God. God doesn’t delay. He never places you on hold or tells you to call again later. God loves the sound of your voice. Always. He doesn’t hide when you call. He hears your prayers.
Max Lucado
Anxiety is a powerful beast. I’ve wrestled with it my whole life. It has the power to rewire your brain; the power to destroy; the power to damage relationships; the power to rule over you.
Anxiety, often a result of fear, is one of Satan’s greatest weapons. Anxiety leads to feeling overwhelmed, depressed, self loathing and despair.
We can choose prayer over despair.
Max Lucado
We can take action against anxiety through the power of prayer! God has equipped us to fight back in the battle of spiritual warfare.
How do we pray in such a way that we can win this battle?
We can pray specifically.
Max tells us several benefits to praying the specifics:
- It has a more serious tone to it. It’s not generalized. It’s detailed. Yes, God already knows the details, but when you pour your heart out to Him in great detail, He is listening to EVERY DETAIL. We can find comfort in knowing that He is listening to every single word.
- It is an opportunity for us to see God at work and grow our faith.
- When we pray to Him with the specifics, we can lift it off our shoulders and onto His. He wants to carry our burdens. His love for us goes beyond what we can comprehend. When I see my children hurting, I want so badly to take the pain away from them. God wants to do the same for us.
Don’t think for a moment that the power of prayer resides in the way we present it.
Max Lucado
It is not about how we present our prayers. It is about the condition of our heart when we pray. When you pray with a sincere and humble heart, you are ultimately giving up the control. You are saying “Lord, I believe in your will for this situation. I surrender to you.”
Contingent contentment turns us into wounded, worried people.
Max Lucado
Contingent contentment is left to chance. In other words, our contentment depends on what we think will make us happy; what we think will fulfill our lives; what we think is best for us.
Christ based contentment says “since no one can take our Christ, no one can take our joy.”
Max Lucado
Christ based contentment is willing to find joy even in the midst of pain. It is willing to find joy in dire circumstances. Christian joy rests in the fact that we have the Holy Spirit living within us guiding us on the path He has set for us. You can say goodbye to your insecurities.
Cast all your anxieties on Him because He cares.
1 Peter 5:7
The definition of cast is to intentionally relocate something. God is commanding us to relocate our fears, worries and anxieties from ourselves on to Him. He is asking us to keep our focus on Him. What happened to Peter when Jesus called him to walk on the water? As long as Peter was focused on Christ, he was able to do the impossible. But when his gaze shifted, he began to sink. Peter cried out “Save me!” With Jesus, we can stay afloat. Without Him, we cannot. We simply cannot do it on our own.
Worry refuses to share the heart with gratitude.
Max Lucado
I encourage you to share your deepest thoughts with Christ. Find your contentment through Him. We are going to face trials. Those trials will feel awful. They will feel hopeless at times. They will feel inescapable. Despite those feelings, we know the truth. That Christ is walking every moment of the trial with us. He is listening and He can make us anxious for nothing.
What you have in Christ is greater than anything you don’t have in life.
Max Lucado
For discussion:
- During the covid-19 crisis with social isolation and quarantine, what blessings has God surprised you with?
- Many characters in the bible make very specific prayer requests. Can you name one and what they prayed for?
- Do you need to make a change to your prayer life? If you feel comfortable, please share.
For next week:
- Watch session 4 video
- Read Chapter 8 in Anxious for Nothing
Hi, thank you for sharing this anxiety advice with us. In most generations nowadays, they prefer to hide their anxiety. What do you think would be the best thing to make teenagers open up about their struggles? Thank you!
I agree that alot of people hide their anxiety. I think talking to anyone (teens included) openly about anxiety is key. Letting them know that so many people struggle with it and its not taboo to seek counseling or help for anxiety. Reassuring them, but also validating their feelings. And most of all, being available. I don’t have teens yet so I can’t speak from experience, but I have heard from parents of teens that listening (and less talking- so hard for us moms!) is vital to getting teens to open up.
Happy Easter Ladies!
1.During the covid-19 crisis with social isolation and quarantine, what blessings has God surprised you with?
I have seen many blessings from God as we experience this strange time with covid-19. Some of them include: thankfulness for more quality time with my family, less stress & anxiety working at home, hearing of others being thankful for the downtime with family members, and dwelling more on scripture (which helps calm me). My prayer is that numerous individuals find their way to Christ through this difficult time.
Many characters in the bible make very specific prayer requests. Can you name one and what they prayed for?
I personally like this specific prayer request below that Soloman made to God desiring wisdom & knowledge to rule over the people. 2 Chronicles 1:11-12 “God said to Solomon, “Since this was in your heart instead of requesting riches or wealth or glory for yourself or death for your enemies—and since you have not even requested long life but have asked for wisdom and knowledge to govern My people over whom I have made you king— 12therefore wisdom and knowledge have been granted to you. And I will also give you riches and wealth and honor unlike anything given to the kings before you or after you.” God knew Soloman’s heart desires were in line with God’s will, so He granted his request.
Do you need to make a change to your prayer life? If you feel comfortable, please share.
I have learned from this study that my prayer requests need to be more specific and less general. I really enjoyed this week’s lesson:)
Praying for everyone! Let us all draw closer to Christ!!
I also came to the realization that I need to be more specific in my prayer life too. Thank you for sharing!