It's Good for What's bugging You!

Circumstances are always in the hands of a completely sovereign God, and the only way to have peace is to believe that. Since He runs things, and things don't agree with you, take that disagreement up with Him. He may or may not change things, but He WILL give you His peace, so you can stand it in your heart.

An important technique for handling worry and depression is to try to list everything that bothers you. Write all of the concerns down. Disappointments, fears, doubt, you name it, they all need listing. THEN pray over each one. The first of two Philippian Bible verses (4:6,7) addresses the natural bent to worry. It suggests taking the energy invested in worrying and encourages the worrier to redirect it to prayer. The second verse (v.7) addresses the anxiety attending each concern. Some bothers cause a lot of worry and pain, some a little. Whatever the pain, God promises that He will trade the problem and its pain for peace. He gets the stress, you get the peace. The peace will maybe come very soon, maybe later, but it always comes, but only as the problem is truly released from your mind. Remaining stress only serves as a reminder that it is not lifted up. I Peter 5:7 also helps.

Now the stress will only leave over time; it may still be there immediately after the prayer, but only for a short time afterwards, so don't feel like you did not pray right. It did not get there in a hurry, it won't leave in one either.

Also some pain is so deep and so strong, you need to find a friendly ear to share it with. Then the two of you pray about it, maybe with a little discussion first. They might come up with an angle, a line of reasoning that helps you handle it better. Remember an old corollary, though: the conversation never strays to prayer. Do it! It's good for what's bugging you.

Tell me what you think, I'm just thinkin' out loud!