I think God expects us to worry. Or at least he's not surprised when we do. Certainly, there are always plenty of worries in life that can give rise to anxiety. It's amazing we don't spend more time wracked with anxiety than we do! Of course, for some worry and anxiety is incapacitating. And while, again, this doesn't surprise God, this is also not his will for our lives.
I've used Paul's words on prayer in Philippians 4:6 probably more times than I can count: "Do not worry about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God." I have used these words frequently in my own prayers simply because I can struggle with anxiety, that awful in-the-pit-of-your-stomach feeling that serves to distract and disturb. I begin with the thought that God knows I worry. If people weren't prone to worry, why provide such admonition? Only the presence of anxiety in people's actual experience provides ample reason for Scripture to counsel us in such a way.
Because God is our heavenly Father, he can be trusted. This is what we believe. Or at least this is what we say we believe; what we live sometimes contradicts our verbal confessions. But each of us is a bundle of sinful contradictions anyhow. "I believe; help my unbelief" are words we can all relate to at one time or another. Praying these words gets us on the road to trusting God. This is what Paul is advising.
The Message translates Paul's words here as follows: "Don't fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers, letting God know your concerns." Having worries is one thing; letting them dominate you is quite another. Prayer is an act of trust that what worries us needn't rule us, that even if God doesn't solve all of our problems in an instant, he can give us peace in the midst of them and help us through them. But for this to be true, we have to pray. We have to ask. To experience "the peace of God" we have to know him as our Father, one who will provide for our needs and grant us our daily bread.
Yet, it's still not always easy. I don't find it so. Some worries and cares are so immediate that the promise of peace from God through prayer seems an abstract and distant hope at best. We desire the peace offered, but find it impossible to believe. We do and we don't. "I believe; help my unbelief!" Sometimes it simply takes us longer to let go and give things into God's hands. And when we finally do it's begrudgingly so; and we offer no guaratee that we won't try to snatch our cares back.
But we also shouldn't berate ourselves in the midst of all this for our lack of faith. Sure, Jesus points out the disciples' lack of faith several times in the gospels; but I don't think we should follow suit here. Instead, I think we should approach God with whatever scraps of faith we have and ask him for more. Too many people get down on themselves when anxiety besets them. "If only I had more faith, I would not be so worried!" I should say that I am preaching to myself to some extent here!
Everything we think and feel is material for prayer. God already knows every thought and emotion we experience. So nothing we go through is a secret we can keep or a surprise we can suddenly reveal. If we lack faith, ask for faith. If we lack faith that God can help us with our worries, then ask for faith that God can help us with our worries. "Help" is the most honest prayer of all. More than anything, God wants us to trust him with our lives. Much in life teaches us to do precisely the opposite. Our world is not conducive to faith. We are surrounded by enemies that drain the energy we need to bring to our prayers. But even a whimpered prayer is better than resigned silence.
All this to say that if you ever struggle with prayer and with worries, you're not alone. And God understands even before you try to explain yourself. The best thing to do is be yourself, to be open and honest with him, "and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus."
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