Anxiety Reading Plan – W1D5
Check out all the previous Anxiety readings here.
Anxiety Reading Plan | Day 5
Prayer
As you come to spend time with Jesus, calm your mind and body until you feel fully present. Thank Jesus that he came to save you!
Bible Reading: 1 Peter 5:6-7
Read these verses three times slowly.
Humble yourselves, therefore, under God’s mighty hand, that he may lift you up in due time. Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.
Reflection & Questions
When we let our anxiety run amuck in our lives, it can lead us to behave and speak in strange ways. It can even affect the way we pray. We might become controlling in our prayers: “God, you have to do it this way…” or “God, you have to show me what will happen.” Or we might go the opposite way, and not pray about certain things, for fear that praying about it will cause us to face some kind of situation we would just rather avoid.
The verses today speak right to both the controlling and avoidance kinds of prayers. To the controlling, Peter says, “humble yourselves…under God’s mighty hand.” Surely, we have a loving Father who hears our controlling prayers with compassion and grace. But as we mature in our faith, we are to learn what it is to trust God with the future and to humble ourselves before Him. This is learning to pray what Jesus prayed on the night before He went to the cross: “Not my will, but yours be done.” It is to trust that God is God. That He is mighty, and that He is good. He might not do things the way we want, but He knows what is best (even if that is very difficult for us to understand).
To the avoidance prayers, Peter says, “Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” The word “cast” is a wonderful picture of taking that weight that we’re carrying and giving it over to God – throwing it to Him – and leaving it with Him. But notice, we’re not to just cast some things. He says, “cast all your anxiety.” Every single last bit of it. Don’t avoid praying about certain things because of your fear of loss, bring it to your loving heavenly Father who you can trust with all your heart.
How awesome our God is that He hears our anxious prayers. Whether controlling or avoiding, He knows our heart and has bucketloads of grace and compassion for us. As we mature in trusting Him though, we can see that we no longer need to pray with avoidance or control, but we can simply trust and give God all our anxiety.
- Would you say anxiety leads you to pray controlling prayers or avoidance prayers?
- What are your take-aways from this week’s readings on anxiety? How will you incorporate that into your life?
Prayer
Talk to God in response to the reading today.
Worship Song
You might use this song today to worship Jesus today:
Recommended Summer Reading
If anxiety is something that you or a loved one wrestle with, “The Anxiety Opportunity” by Curtis Chang is a great read. Check it out on Amazon.
Check out more Bible Reading Plans here.
Questions?
Ed Applegate
