Be Anxious for Nothing

By Kandace Rather
"Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus" (Philippians 4:6,7 NKJV).

I have a confession. It took me some time to arrive at a place in my prayer life at which I was able to pray from a posture of faith rather than fear. More often than not I would end my prayer time without any peace and no sense of resolution in my heart about the situation for which I was praying. Most of my prayers were centered around what I was "feeling" and "seeing" in the natural, rather than the truth in His Word. Even now, I have to catch myself if I begin to feel anxious about circumstances that I see coming, or situations I find myself in with one of my children.

It's no surprise that the enemy has even found a way to distort our prayer times. He knows if he can get us fearful and anxious that we will lack the confidence we need to come to His throne room boldly and seek grace in our time of need.

As the Holy Spirit began to reveal to me the truth about praying the Word of God over my children, my confidence grew and my prayers were filled with faith; the result was walking in His peace that surpassed all my natural understanding. Taking His Word and turning it into intercession has become my primary prayer language!

Yes, I do still have times where I just fall of my knees and pour my heart out to Him about how I am “feeling,” but even in those times, I make it my aim to declare, even as David did at the conclusion of Psalm 42:5,
“Why are you cast down, O my soul?
And why are you disquieted within me?
Hope in God, for I shall yet praise Him
For the help of His countenance” (NKJV).
David begins this verse with the confession that his soul is disturbed--he is not in denial about how he feels; however, he quickly tells his soul what to do in the face of despair
. . . to hope in God! We can have hope when we come to God in prayer, with thanksgiving in our heart as we make our requests known to Him. Our hope is rooted and grounded in His love for us and for our children. As we spend time in His Word, sitting at His feet and quieting our soul, peace will come. We can then have a confident resolve in our hearts that He hears us, He cares and He will move in response to our intercession.

I encourage you to take some time this week and ask the Holy Spirit to give you specific Scriptures to begin praying over your children. He will be faithful to show you what is on His heart, revealing those things to you for which Jesus is already making intercession for your family. When we come into agreement with His will, we have to only wait to see the fulfillment that will soon come to pass.

PRAYER: Father, thank You for teaching us how to pray. We choose to turn to Your Word for hope and not merely rely on our feelings or what we see in the natural. Your tender love for us and our children gives us hope even in the darkest times. May this week be filled with a peace that passes all understanding as we come before You in prayer and supplication with thanksgiving in our hearts! In Jesus’ name, Amen.