“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7 nlt)
Some people can sleep through anything. I’m not one of them. If I hear one little noise, I’m awake. If a bird chirps, I’m awake. I’m a light sleeper.
Apparently, Jesus was a heavy sleeper. Luke’s Gospel tells us that as the disciples battled a violent storm on the Sea of Galilee, Jesus was sound asleep. Water made its way into the boat as it pitched back and forth. Sinking seemed like a very real possibility. The terrified disciples woke up Jesus, crying, “Master, Master, we’re going to drown!” (Luke 8:24 nlt).
On the one hand, they panicked. And they can be faulted for that. On the other hand, they channeled their anxiety in the right direction. They cried out to the Lord. In a sense, they prayed.
When we are in trouble, we need to follow their example. We need to pray. We need to give our worries to the Lord and trust Him. We need to place our faith in Him.
Faith and worry cannot coexist. One chases out the other. Do you know people who don’t get along? Maybe you want to invite one of them to your house, but you’re hesitant to invite the other because there’s always conflict between the two of them. Faith and worry have the same type of relationship. Where there is worry, there is no place for faith. Faith is driven out by worry, and worry is driven out by faith.
The apostle Paul wrote, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus” (Philippians 4:6–7 nlt).
The New Testament in the modern English PHILLIPS Bible puts it this way: “Don’t worry over anything whatever; tell God every detail of your needs in earnest and thankful prayer, and the peace of God which transcends human understanding, will keep constant guard over your hearts and minds as they rest in Christ Jesus.”
It has been said that if your knees start shaking, you should kneel on them. In other words, when things get scary, pray. Cry out to God.
Prayer is essential to discipleship. The sooner new believers learn to give their fears, doubts, concerns, and problems to God as those issues arise, the quicker they will grow in their faith.
The disciples in the boat that day were left in awe by Jesus’ ability to answer their prayers. Their faith was bolstered beyond measure. The same thing happens when Jesus’ followers pray today.
Reflection question: How can you prioritize prayer in your life?
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Greg Laurie is the pastor and founder of the Harvest churches in California and Hawaii and of Harvest Crusades. He is an evangelist, best-selling author, and movie producer. His latest film ‘Jesus Revolution,’ from Lionsgate and Kingdom Story Company, is now available on-demand worldwide.
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