My Thoughts and Prayer

I know many of you don’t need this prayer on a daily basis, but I confess that I do. I was raised in an environment where worry was a part of everyday life and it was almost like it was expected. As a result, I joined in at an early age, worrying about mundane childish things. As I got older, my worry increased. I wanted to make good grades and was anxious that I wouldn’t be able to, that I would disappoint my perfection-demanding mother. So, I strived, oh, how I strived! College was the same. Then, after college, I became a Christian, but I still did not let my worry habit go. If anything, it increased as I faced the challenges of raising children, working a full-time job and having my husband constantly deployed with the military. Nevertheless, I did pray, probably almost unendingly, to the point that I felt as though I was having a conversation with God all day and that He was the only One keeping me going. Nowadays, I still fret, I still worry, but I have learned a new habit. When a worrisome thought comes in, I counter it with a scripture verse or a prayer of thanksgiving for all God has done and is doing. Does that mean I “have arrived” and I don’t worry anymore? I wish I could say that is true. What it means is that I am leaning into God a lot because I am a worrier. I can blame it on genetics, family habits or whatever, but it is a habit that I don’t want to have but can’t seem to break. Thus, I pray, I memorize and cite scripture verses. I don’t think there is a “magic bullet” to cure me of this malady, but I do like this part of the prayer from today’s Daily Refresh Devotional on the You Version App, so I am making it mine.

“Please replace worry with peace, anxiety with hope and concern with confident trust.” May we all press into God as He will also draw closer to us. May He be as close as our next prayer and shape us into the confident, worry-free and hopeful children He created us to be. ~Amen.