It is possible to live without anxiety. There are things that may threaten you that will cause you to be anxious – no one is immune to that. It is our intuitive response, when things go wrong, to try to take control of the situation, and when we cannot, we stress over it. When this happens, Paul tells us to pray. But let’s understand this properly. Prayer is not about informing God of our needs so that he can give us what we lack. He knows our needs already. The purpose of prayer is a transferral of life. Prayer is us putting our lives back where they should be, into God’s hands. God wants us to recognise when we are carrying the burden of our own lives (anxiety is a sign of this) and to give our lives back to him. Once your life is entrusted to God you will again live in peace. You will no longer be anxious about tomorrow because you will recognise that tomorrow is not your concern. In fact, tomorrow is outside your jurisdiction (Matthew 6:34; James 4:13-16). Tomorrow belongs to God, and you are not permitted to worry about it as though it were up to you to control your future. If your life is in God’s hands, then you are on his path, and he is making the way. It is important to exercise due prudence for future needs (Proverbs 21:20) but worrying about tomorrow robs you of today. How much do we miss in the present because of our constant concern with tomorrow?
Are you anxious about anything? Give this over to God in prayer.
Read Philippians 4:1-9
