Read Philippians 4:6 from your Bible
God cares about your every need. He understands and really wants to reach out to you, but there is a door which must be unlocked if God is going to intervene in your situation. Until the care is cast upon Him, you will be left to do the carrying.
God does not want to share the responsibilities with you; He is big enough to shoulder it completely. However, until you cast the care on Him, justice forbids Him to carry it off your shoulders. Think of a small boy who requires help with a heavy piece of luggage. He may labour endlessly until he calls out for assistance.
The art of calling on God and casting your cares upon Him is done in prayer. As often as the cares come, they must be cast upon God, that is why the present continuous tense ‘casting’ is used (1 Peter 5:7).
Read Jeremiah 33:3 from your Bible
When you call out in prayer, God’s answer is direction, which is a solution to the anxiety causing situation.
If God’s Word clearly says, “but in everything by PRAYER,” it means that prayer is necessary for anxiety to be uprooted. It is the next thing to do, after locating the Word of God that addresses the situation.
Prayer is the spiritual weapon for overcoming anxiety. Whenever a situation arises and you find that there is no defined way of escape, don’t panic, and don’t fret, talk to God about it in prayer. God already knows what you are faced with; He knows how you feel. But there is a law in place that forbids Him to interfere until you invite Him in.
Prayer is communicating with God. It is what brings a man into fellowship with his Maker. God enjoys fellowship with His children; He is ever willing to help.
Read Hebrews 4:16, 5-1 from your Bible
The “time of need” could be any time. God wants you to come to Him at your hour of need. Instead of getting anxious, you only need to go to God and talk to Him about the issue. The communication line between you and God must be open at all times. It must not be blocked through sin and disobedience.
This is what it means to pray always. God is accessible to man all the time. Any time you have a request, come boldly to the throne of grace in prayer and make your request known to Him. As you do so, His peace that makes for direction will be made available to you.
For prayer to be complete, after you have finished speaking to God and laid your cares upon Him, patiently wait for Him to speak to you as well. Communication is a two-way thing; both parties must be involved in the speaking, one after the other. Many believers, however, fall short of this. Many only “bombard” heaven and leave God’s presence satisfied.
But that is only one side of the coin. God has something to say, He wants to talk back to you also. The answer is available, but often times, man leaves without an answer and this is not the fault of God. God still speaks as He spoke to men in Bible days.
Frightening thoughts rush in like a fast flowing flood. The aim? To carry away the elect of God, to sweep him off his feet. Whatever the reason for anxiety, its primary objective is to distract the believer and cause him to shift his focus from God and subsequently lose out on God’s blessings.
Read Isaiah 59:19 from your Bible
The Spirit of the Lord is however eagerly waiting to raise a standard, but you must first open yourself up in prayers. Your responsibility is to create an atmosphere suitable for the Holy Spirit to operate and this is possible when you pray certain scriptures, which keep away the floods of life.
Whatever has been bothering you and threatening to become a source of anxiety, whatever it is, go to God with it. He is your friend and is interested in hearing and granting your heart’s desire. God expects you to lift up your eyes to Him in times of stress. Unlike the gods of the earth, our God is not deaf, but is able to hear our cries (Psalm 94:9).
For 400 years, Israel was in bondage in Egypt. God saw their affliction; He was present each day of the 400 years they were in slavery. No doubt, a few of them must have accused God of forgetting them in the land of captivity. But accusing God did not move Him into ensuring their freedom.
Until they cried out to Him, their situation remained the same. They were God’s people, yes, but they were still in bondage!
Read Exodus 2:23, 3:7 from your Bible
God saw their affliction, but could do nothing until He heard their cry in prayer! Both parties have distinct responsibilities. On God’s side is the duty of rescuing those who belong to Him, while on the other hand, man must call out to God before help is dispatched.
Israel was God’s first-born, yet God watched them languish in bondage until they fulfilled the requirement. God was, as it were, handicapped until Israel cried out in prayer unto Him. But the moment they did, God could not hold back; He was prepared to wipe out the whole of Egypt, to rescue Israel.
Relating this to believers, who, today, constitute the spiritual Israel, many are accusing God of neglect, when in actual fact the fault lies with them. Someone asks: “Lord, can’t you see I don’t have money? Can’t you see I am not feeling well?” God can see, but He can’t intervene until you call out to Him in prayer. If God’s Word says: Everyone that asketh receiveth (Matthew 7:8), it follows that those who don’t ask cannot receive!
Prayer is not just an activity for a regimented time, say in the morning or in the evening. No, it means praying at all times – keeping heaven abreast with matters arising in our day-to-day life. This could be while doing the dishes or while driving on the road.
Anxiety attacks anyone, anywhere. So, it will be foolhardy to delay praying until your regimented prayer hour. Once anxiety-causing thoughts surface, you must say a word of prayer, in faith. This is where praying in tongues is most effectual. Once those worrisome thoughts arise, switch over to the language of the Spirit and scatter them. If such thoughts are left unchecked, fear will take root and before long anxiety will be ushered in.
The Holy Spirit has been given as a gift to the Body of Christ to enjoy. As a born-again Christian, you have access to that gift. Rather than allow burdens to weigh you down, call on God, toll-free, in the language of the Spirit. It is like operating a mobile phone, you are not restricted by a line, you can call at all times and in all places.
We earlier on established that Jesus, while in the flesh, never experienced anxiety. What He did to achieve this is no secret.
Read Mark 1:35 from your Bible
Shalom!
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