Calming Our Anxious Thoughts
Your Nightly Prayer
by Jennifer Slattery
TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE
"Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." - Philippians 4:6
SOMETHING TO PONDER
As someone with a long history of anxiety that, for a time, stole my sleep, I’m grateful to know that I’ll never face a battle or crisis alone. Nor will you. Our loving, ever-present, and always faithful Father sees us, remains with us, and invites us to lay our every concern, however big or small, at His feet, trusting Him to fulfill His promise to protect and provide for us, the children in whom He delights.
Philippians 4:5 tells us that the Lord is near. According to Psalm 46:1, He is our refuge and strength, an ever-present help in trouble.
Pause for a moment to sense and connect with His presence. Envision yourself enveloped in His love. If this feels difficult, ask Him to increase your spiritual awareness, and choose to believe that He is indeed present, whether you feel Him or not. He will never leave or abandon us, turn His back on us, or relax His loving grip on our lives. To the contrary, He upholds us by His mighty right hand.
When fear floods our hearts, we fix our thoughts on truth. Here are some unchanging truths able to quiet our souls. He’s our refuge—the One who surrounds and shields us with His love. He is our constantly accessible, unconquerable source of strength who responds to our weakness by filling our souls with His perfect and complete strength.
That is the God who invites us to “cast all our cares on Him.” Why? Because he cares for us. Scripture not only invites, but encourages us to bring every difficulty, crisis, or confusing circumstance, the big and the seemingly small, to the One who already knows the best solution to every problem we’ll ever face, who retains full control over all history, and is, at each moment, working all things for our good and His glory.
And finally, we do so with thanksgiving—thanking Him in advance for the protection, provision, and peace only He can give, but also for all the ways in which He’s proven Himself faithful in the past. The more we reflect on who He is, in all His vastness, and all the ways He’s cared for us over the course of our lives, the less overwhelming today’s concerns feel. Gratitude shifts our gaze from the size of the problem to the strength of our God.
While we may, indeed, feel anxious, truth tells us we have ample reason to sleep in peace and embrace tomorrow with courage and confidence, knowing the Lord goes before us, walks beside us, and lives within us as He leads us toward the hope-filled plans He has for us.
YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER
Father,
Thank you for all the ways you watch over, protect, and provide for us. You see our every concern and understand why each one feels so difficult or painful. Help us to sense and rest in Your presence. Speak truth to our fears and flood our souls with Your strength. Remind us that You do indeed have good plans for us and our loved ones and that You possess the power and authority to bring that good to pass. We also ask, as we close our eyes tonight, that You stop our anxious thoughts and fix our minds on truth. You are the truth. Your word is truth. And you set us free by Your truth.
In Jesus’ name we pray, amen.
THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON
1. You are not alone. Your all-powerful Savior, who conquered death that you might live, remains with you as you drift off to sleep and will remain with you when you awake.
2. God is faithful. That is who He is, and that will never change.
3. He who formed all that exists is more than able to manage your and your loved ones' lives as well and has promised to do so.
Photo Credit: © Unsplash/Aaron Burden
Jennifer Slattery is a writer and speaker who co-hosts the Faith Over Fear podcast and, along with a team of 6, the Your Daily Bible Verse podcast. She’s addressed women’s groups, Bible studies, and taught at writers conferences across the nation. She’s the author of Building a Family and numerous other titles and maintains a devotional blog at JenniferSlatteryLivesOutLou
She’s passionate about helping people experience Christ’s freedom in all areas of their lives. Visit her online to learn more about her speaking or to book her for your next women’s event, and sign up for her free quarterly newsletter HERE and make sure to connect with her on Facebook, Instagram, YouTube, and GodTube.
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