Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all comprehension, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.    Philippians 4:6-7 HCSB

If you want to have peace in your life, you’ve got to pray. We are told in 1 Thessalonians 5:17 to pray without ceasing. I just spoke a few days ago about how our prayer life should be constant contact with God not a series of 911 calls. If you are suffering from anxiety, your cure is found in our scripture passage today. We need to pray. We need to be thankful not just on Thanksgiving but all year round. And most importantly we need to bring everything to God in prayer. Just the other night I was watching a video of Chonda Pierce, Christian comedian. She started out as a singer, which I didn’t know until recently. In the video she sang the song, What a Friend We Have in Jesus. The lyrics tell us what a privilege it is to carry everything to God in prayer. “Oh what peace we often forfeit, Oh what needless pain we bear. All because we do not carry everything to God in prayer.”

Then in stanza 3, “We should never be discouraged. Take it to the Lord in prayer.” In stanza 4, “Jesus knows our every weakness. Take it to the Lord in prayer.”  That song was written by Joseph Scriven who, as a young man, was engaged to a woman he had loved for a long time. Just before they were to be wed, the woman died in an accidental drowning. Mr. Scriven penned these words and sent them to his mother to comfort her in their sorrow. They were never intended for public use so it is not known how it first came to be published. He was only credited with authorship after his death. This hymn speaks of our great dependence on God. Mr. Scriven realized this great dependence when he lost the love of his life.

We often realize our need for God out of tragedy or deep sorrow. This is why a good, healthy prayer life is so important. But even those of us who have what we consider to be a good healthy prayer life, sometimes forget to pray. Now, let me explain. You see, I don’t forget to pray. I remember to pray in the morning at mealtimes and at night. But there are honestly times when something will get my feathers ruffled and instead of praying, I will, well, I will get my feathers ruffled. I was convicted of this just this morning.

You see, a few days ago, something happened which caused me a great deal of concern. Now my first response should have been to pray for all of those involved, but that didn’t happen. I am ashamed to admit that I was angry and allowed a wee bit of anxiety to creep in. Instead of getting down on my knees and talking to God about this, I vented to my good Christian friends, especially those that I knew would agree with me. I thank God for my Christian friends. They help keep me balanced, and although I knew that they would agree in this matter, they do help me to see things from different perspectives and I am so grateful to them for that. I am so grateful to God for putting good, Christian friends in my life. But, that still doesn’t excuse the fact that I must go to God, first.

Yesterday my blog was about being still and quiet and listening to God. But when I get angry or anxious about a particular situation I am neither still nor am I quiet. In Luke 18, Jesus tells the story of a widow who was persistent with a judge who did not fear God. This judge eventually gave in to the widow. Luke 18:1 says that this parable was to show that at all times we should pray and not lose heart.

There is no problem so big that Jesus can’t work it out. We know from Romans 8:28 that if we love the Lord and are called according to His purpose, that all things work out for our good. The problems we face in this world are just little bumps in the road. Our first line of defense should be prayer.

We should talk to God before talking to anyone else about these situations. Then, we should ask our fellow Christians to pray for us and the situation that we are facing.

I am still learning, I am a work in progress, but Lord I pray today that I can learn to pray continually. I pray that I can learn to bring all things to you first. I pray that I will know that you are God and will trust in you enough to come to you first.

If you are guilty of the same thing, won’t you join me in trying to pray first when faced with a difficult situation?

Have a great day!