Prayer/Devotional for Mike 4/21 By Gloria Barotta (Aunt Glo)

Prayer Turns Worry Into Peace

Philippians 4:6-7

“Do not be anxious about anything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

Our Central Idea today—Prayer Turns Worry Into Peace—is not original. In my CBS Teaching Director days, my shepherd and national trainer, Kathy Seibert, used this text for the “mock” lecture she gave during our lecture preparation training. I put “mock” in quotes, because any time we study God’s word, it’s anything BUT mock! Prayer Turns Worry Into Hope was the central idea of her “mock” lecture, and, like a good central idea, it stuck! The phrase came to me yesterday at Lily’s birthday party. I asked Lana what she did yesterday, and she said, “Worried.”

We all are prone to worry. But can I humbly suggest that we take to heart what our passage today instructs? It tells us NOT to be anxious, but instead to submit/present our request to God with thanksgiving. How can we be thankful for anything right now? Because the King of the Universe cares about us and our needs. Do you realize how huge that is? It is bigger than having the back line number to George W. at the White House. Worry saps our strength and our energy. Prayer strengthens us so we can think clearly. We cannot hear God’s leading with all that “what if” going on in our heads!

And that’s the promise associated with praying instead of worrying. Do you see it? The peace of God will guard our hearts and minds. I think we can all admit that when we worry our mind runs away from us. We become paralyzed by our thoughts. We cease to think clearly, we become distraught and our thoughts become captive to “what might have happened” instead of what “is.” Paul tells us that when we pray, God gives us peace. And that peace transcends all understanding and “protects” our hearts and minds from running away with worry! We don’t need to know everything to have peace, all we need to do is submit our petitions to Jesus.

Please join me in prayer. “Father, we thank you that we can come to you with prayers and petitions through your Son, Jesus. We ask that you calm our minds and hearts and give us this peace you promise. Direct the path of our Cali team as they prepare for the last full day on the ground. Give them peace and guidance to be productive. Clear their minds so they can focus on what is in front of them. Open their eyes to see clearly. Push the worry out of all of our mind and replace it with peace. Amen”