I completely understand how easy it is to get stressed out, overwhelmed and afraid of what is to come. It’s easy to allow the stress we experience from life to eventually overwhelm us, and it is beyond easy to be afraid of the future and completely forget about God. Just think about that for a moment.
We completely forget about our creator, we completely forget about the one that has our entire lives planned out. We forget that we are never alone, that there is no reason to be stressed, overwhelmed or afraid. We forget so often and often need reminded by someone around us, I hope this can be your necessary and needed reminder.
It is so easy to forget that we can talk to God, It is something that is so easy to do, but often we forget about it or just don’t understand how to do it. It is something that I have to remind myself daily that I can do, and I know if I’m having to remind myself there are others that need reminded to. More and more lately it’s my famous advice to friends. When they come to me upset, stressed out, overwhelmed or afraid… I look at them and only utter five simple words. “Have you prayed about it?” Five simple words, and often they look at me and admit no.
The bible is a wonderful reminder of prayer. In Matthew 21:22 ESV we read, “And whatever you ask in prayer, you will receive, if you have faith.” What a truly amazing reminder. Another necessary reminder on prayer comes from Romans 12:12 ESV, “Rejoice in hope, be patient in tribulation, be constant in prayer.” This is a good reminder because it reminds us besides praying that we must also rejoice in hope, and my all-time favorite prayer, Philippians 4:6 ESV states “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God”. This verse is probably my favorite because it reminds us that we have no reason to be anxious, it also reminds us that we need to be in prayer about everything and with thanksgiving.
Praying is something so easy to do, if you would have asked me at the beginning of this year how comfortable I was praying I would have definitely probably looked at you and said “I do pray but do you mean out loud?” It has definitely taken some practice but I am definitely more comfortable with it, it definitely has been something I have worked on with the ladies from my church and my mentor, and now I am so much more comfortable with it, and the best thing is you can be anywhere to pray. My favorite place and time to pray is honestly driving to work, it helps prepare me for my day.
If you are having a difficult time with prayer I am here to remind you, you are not alone, I promise you someone is having the same difficulty as you are, and it’s okay. There is no reason to be stressed out, overwhelmed, and afraid when we have Christ on our side, prayer is something important to our lives and so easily forgotten. So the next time you are stressed out, overwhelmed or afraid open your bible, study God’s word, and pray.
