Anxiety can cause light-headedness, nausea, an upset stomach, and a need to pee—again.
I’m sure like me, you’ve experienced those symptoms as you’ve sat in the doctor’s office waiting for results, gone for an interview for a new job, or heard a loved one is seriously ill.
Over the last few weeks, we’ve been learning to reduce the physical effects of anxiety by using deep breathing and releasing our concerns to God in prayer.
Today, we will discover how scripture encourages us to replace our worries with requests. Not occasionally, but every single time we feel a tiny bit tense.
Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. Philippians 4:6 (Emphasis mine.)
Another word for petition is supplication. It’s an old-fashioned word but it sums up perfectly what we must do: Ask God earnestly. Implore with him but with humility.
Hannah is a great example for us to look at. If you haven’t read how she prayed, you can do so here:
Make Passionate Prayer If You Want Peace.
So distressed, Hannah could not eat. That’s another physical effect of anxiety. It leaves us without an appetite. Or, for some of us, it has the opposite effect and we eat insatiably.
Hannah didn’t look respectable when she brought her anxiety to God, but she was respectful of God and submissive in her asking.
Eli, the priest who watched Hannah pray, thought Hannah both disreputable and disrespectful of God. He reprimanded her for being drunk.
However, from Hannah’s prayer and her reply to Eli we see nothing but humility:
She said: Do not take your servant for a wicked woman.
The term “wicked woman” here is “daughter of Belial,” a phrase suggesting: one who failed to give due respect to God. Hannah is saying: I am not failing in my respect to God.
Instead, we see reverence in her vow. She prayed:
Lord—Hannah made God the Lord of her life, Lord of her situation, and Lord of her barrenness. By calling God “Lord” she put him as Master and in control of everything in her life.
Almighty—Hannah recognized God had complete power in her situation. That’s why she came to him and poured out her heart.
If you will only look on your servant’s misery and remember me, and not forget your servant but give her a son—Hannah called herself a servant—twice. Her words imply she was devoted to serving God.
God had the power to answer her request, but she was being humble in her asking.
Hannah had a big ask. She wanted her barren body to produce a baby. More than that, she specifically asked for a son.
Bold prayers for wellness involve big asks.
How do we put this into practice:
When you’re so worried you feel sick, you’re off your food, run to the bathroom and more, turn to your heavenly Father, the Lord Almighty, in prayer.
Turn your anxiety into earnest asking. It may look messy, but that’s okay.
Sometimes intense asking is a simple a cry for help. You can find no others words. That’s okay, too.
Acknowledge God is in control.
Whatever you are anxious about, ask God, believing he is Lord, and be willing to accept the answer, whatever it is.
Other resources to help you:
Use Prayer Workout Prayer Workout 1 in the Prayer Zone Workout book. Here is a condensed version. Scroll down to Talking about Everything.
Or use the Prayer Zone Workout App. Choose Workout Exercises. Select Entering and Your heavenly Father cares. Then choose Next exercise and Asking with Faith and Confidence.
Visit the other posts in the Bold Prayers for Wellness series here
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Linking up with Crystal Storms at #HeartEncouragement, with Arabah Joy at Grace & Truth, with Susan B. Mead at Dance With Jesus