Flip The Script

Flip the Script

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Philippians 4:6

THIS VERSE MAY COME ACROSS AS GOOD ADVICE, an uplifting word of encouragement. But it’s phrased as a command: “Don’t worry about anything.” A simple word study confirms that anything means anything—that we are to be anxious for no things, nothing at all. Even when we have legitimate concerns, God gives us something to do with them. He invites us to cast our cares on him and let him deal with the details. Nowhere are we told that God gets stressed out, and nowhere are we given license to depart from his nature. When we’re worried and he’s not—and he never is—we are disagreeing with him. We are not taking advantage of the greatest means we have been given to change the world.

If you struggle with anxious thoughts, you may be receiving prayer prompts from God and turning them from, “Okay, Lord, here’s where you want to work” into “Oh no! Look what could go wrong!” In fact, many people who wrestle with anxiety find that one of their greatest ministry gifts is intercession. They realize that all of the troublesome thoughts they have about what might happen, the dangers that lie ahead, and the things that need to be taken care of are actually the Holy Spirit encouraging them to cover their lives and the lives around them with prayer. The intensity of their former anxieties becomes the intensity of their prayers.

Your opportunities to worry are also your opportunities to exercise faith. The only difference between them is your response. It will take great mental discipline training yourself to respond out of faith rather than worry, but you will never grow in your prayer life unless you do. Perhaps you haven’t seen immediate results and assume your prayers aren’t doing much, though Scripture assures you they are. Or maybe you’re wondering if you’re supposed to do something but feel helpless because you don’t know what it is. If so, flip the script on your worries. Learn to see those opportunities. Don’t waste them on fear, anxiety, worry, or dread. Turn them into occasions for powerful, faith-filled petitions to God, covering your life and your world with his goodness.

Pray, and let God worry.