“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” (Philippians 4:6–7 NLT)

 

For many people, prayer is a last resort. You might hear them say, “Well, we’ve tried everything else we can think of. Now the only thing left to do is pray.” What? Prayer is the first thing you should do. Look again at the apostle Paul’s words in Philippians 4:6: “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (NLT).

Those first two statements can’t be separated. The only way you can not worry about anything is if you pray about everything. And if you don’t pray about everything, you’re going to worry about anything.

Jesus prayed—a lot. And in Matthew 6, He taught His disciples to pray. He emphasized the importance of praying privately, as opposed to praying publicly for show. Prayer isn’t a performance; it’s an intimate conversation with our Father—a chance to share what’s on our heart and discover what’s on His. And there are no limits to the things we can pray about.

Most people pray reactively. When something happens that’s beyond their control, they turn it over to God. They send out a prayer distress signal, asking Him to intervene as quickly and powerfully as possible. There’s nothing wrong with that. God always hears our prayers. And no situation is too big—or too small, for that matter—for Him.

But don’t underestimate the power of proactive prayer. Jesus said, “When you pray, go away by yourself, shut the door behind you, and pray to your Father in private” and “Don’t babble on and on” (Matthew 6:6–7 NLT). In other words, put some thought, effort, and structure into your prayer time.

When you carve time out of every day to speak to God, your relationship with Him deepens. You get to know and understand Him better. You get a sense of His power and presence in your life. You learn to trust Him. So when emergency situations arise, you feel less panicked and more confident in His ability to bring about ultimate good from them.

God answers our prayers, but not always with a yes. In the Garden of Gethsemane, Jesus asked that the cup of suffering be taken away from Him, that He be spared the agony of the cross (see Matthew 26:39). God said no.

But when He says no, it’s because He has something better in store. Something that better aligns with His will. Something that will provide a better result. We may not always understand His answers, but we can trust that they are for the best.

Is there something troubling you right now? Commit it to the Lord in prayer. Stop trying to carry the burden yourself. Pour your heart out to God and trust Him to guide you through it. Give prayer a chance.

 

Reflection Question: What do you need to turn over to the Lord in prayer right now?

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