Have you ever wanted to change, but just couldn’t seem to. make it happen? Have you felt frustrated and tired of letting down people you love because of habits you can’t break in your life?
I have. But, I learned something that changed everything for me. I learned, from God’s Word, how to pray in a completely different way. And, that’s what I want to share with you today.
2020 was a year when a lot of us got stuck. Because of the extra uncertainty and anxiety in our lives bad habits, destructive patterns, and sinful ways of dealing with life crept back in. But God has given us prayer as a tool to handle uncertainty and anxiety and get the help we need to live with peace. God moves in response to prayer, and he also can change you protect your mind and your heart. Prayer is how you get unstuck.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, 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.
- Philippians 4:6-7 (NIV)
Let’s start by gaining an understanding of how prayer changes us. A few things to point out from Philippians 4:6-7:
How prayer changes us:
1. Prayer is bridge from Anxiety to Peace.
The text takes you on a journey. It starts with anxiety, and it ends with “and the peace of God.” There is a gap between the anxiety we experience and the peace we long for, and that gap is filled by prayer.
You will face troubles, and you will experience anxiety. It doesn’t go away just because you are a Christian. You can turn away from God, or you can turn to God in faith. Prayer is how you turn to God in faith. And the result of that is peace.
Part of the reason you are stuck is because you are experiencing anxiety and you are trying to run from it, or hide from it, or numb it by turning to things that cannot save you from it. And the next day, your situation hasn’t changed except now you are deeper in debt or you’re little addicted or your relationships is a little unhealthier.
2. Prayer is the way to a protected thought life.
The text says that when you pray, God’s peace will “guard your heart and your mind.” The phrase heart and mind is a way of speaking of your whole inner world.
Have you ever noticed that. It doesn’t take much, to send your inner world spiraling out of control. One sentence that touches the raw nerve of your insecurities. One thought that sparks a worry of the future that is out of your control. One social media post which worries you that you are not keeping up. Your inner world is vulnerable to worry and anxiety. It is much harder to respond in faith, than to spiral out of control.
But when you pray, God’s peace guards your heart and mind. When you pray you are reminded that God is in control. You are reminded that God is bigger than your circumstances. You are reminded that God is sovereign. You experience his presence and his love. All of those experiences you gain in prayer invite God’s peace to stand like a sentry in front of your mind.
You will keep in perfect peace those whose minds are steadfast, because they trust in you.
- Isaiah 26:3 (NIV)
You focus on God when you trust in God by prayer. God keeps you in peace.
3. Prayer brings you to the Prince of Peace.
When Paul was writing he could have said, “And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds.” Period. Full Stop. Why does he go on to say, “in Christ Jesus?” What is it about Jesus that contributes to this peace in prayer? What is it about Jesus that can’t be accomplished with prayer by any person? Prayer gets its power from its connection with Jesus. Why is that?
When you have a relationship with God through his son Jesus Christ, you no longer have to worry about whether God hears your prayers. He is not just God, he is your Heavenly Father. And you don’t have to worry about whether you’ve been good enough, or spiritual enough, or righteous enough. You can come to him and find his peace not because of what you’ve done, but because of what Jesus has done for you. He died on the cross for the forgiveness of your sins and he rose from the dead so you could have freedom and hope.
This destroys anxiety. Can you imagine coming before God looking for peace, but not really knowing whether you’ve been good enough or religious enough? That itself is anxiety inducing. But, when you know Jesus, whom the Bible calls the Prince of Peace, you can have peace even in your asking, because you know that the Father hears you and loves you and cares about you. When my little kids are scared, they don’t come ask me for things, they want to be near me, and our closeness is what they need to feel safe. It’s the same way with your heavenly Father…
*Important Note": Maybe, one of the reasons you have dealt with endless anxiety in your life, even if you’ve tried to pray before is that you don’t have a relationship with God. Knowing him won’t mean you never feel anxious again, but if you don’t know him, you’ll never experience that supernatural peace that God can bring into your mind. [To get more information about how to start a relationship with God, click here]
Practical Tips to Get Unstuck with Prayer:
Pray the Psalms aloud.
You learn to speak by having 10,000 words spoken into you before you make your first noise. You imitate the people who have mastered the language. Prayer is the same. The psalms are the vocabulary of prayer, and they touch on the deepest human emotions, processing them in God’s presence. If you want to learn to cast all your anxiety on him, then pray the psalms aloud one each day.
Get around people who know how to pray.
I thought I knew how to pray. Then I went to South Africa on missions trip. Man, I learned some things. People were crying out to God with a passion I had never experienced before. People were praying in a different way and with a different intensity. I gained access to a whole new way to pray by putting myself around people who really new how to pray.
[Thank you for reading! If you are looking for a church in Boston or churches in Boston please consider giving Renewal Church a try!]