God can be a little spicy sometimes, can’t he?

One of my favorite parts of the bible is when we can see the attitude and the sass of the past. It makes the people we read about in the bible so human to me. Like when Elijah confronts the prophets of Baal and accuses Baal of being in the bathroom. Or when Paul is talking to the Corinthian Church and lays it out straight by saying, “I am saying this to shame you.”

I love all those moments so much…until God has a moment like that with me.

Last week, God got a little spicy with me…

I was praying, you know, as a good Christian girl does. There was a situation I was real stressed out about. Like, it was getting to the point where it was all I could think about. I woke up with it on my mind, and I went to bed with it on my mind.

I also know that I’m not supposed to worry about anything, you know, as a good Christian girl. (Philippians 4 lays it out pretty clearly.) So, instead of worrying about it, I decided I would pray…and pray…and pray…and pray.

I wouldn’t stop praying about it. I woke up with it on my mind, would focus my attention on God and be like, “Oh, and here’s another thing about it! This is why it’s stressing me out, Jesus. What if this particular bad thing happens because of it, Jesus?”

That night, as I lay in bed praying and turning this situation over and over again in my mind, God spoke to me. It was a whisper that just sort of took over every thought I had. It was the only thing I could think of for a while.

I could almost picture him putting his hand on my shoulder as he leaned in and said, “Hey, Alli? Stop using prayer as an excuse to worry about this. Pray and then be done thinking about it.”

Big yikes.

Stop using prayer as an excuse to worry

– God

I hadn’t even realized that’s what I’d been doing. By praying over and over and over again, I was presenting an opportunity to further meditate on why I was worrying about it. I didn’t even realize I’d been using “prayer” as a way to fulfill the sinful part of my flesh that takes comfort in worrying. When we worry or meditate on what we’re stressed about, we feel a sense of control. Almost like, if you think about it enough, you’ll figure out a way to solve the problem, or you’ll be prepared when it all hits the fan.

But that isn’t true.

That night, I repented for worrying, shut my eyes, said one final genuine prayer about the situation, and then forced myself to think about something else. I woke up that morning, and I felt refreshed. Crazy how trusting God will do that, huh?

I’m still figuring out this little “prayer VS worry” thing, but I’ve come up with a few guiding steps to figure this out when I face it again in the future.

How do you know if it’s genuine prayer or worry?

Again, I haven’t been doing this long, but here’s what I’ve found so far.

1. Are you making a request or just turning the situation over in your mind?

You’ll be able to tell the type of prayer you’re praying by the words you say. The words you think. Are you going to God and asking for something specific? Giving something specific over to him? Or are you just bringing up a situation so you can talk about it over and over again?

Sometimes, it’s good to process your feelings and thoughts with God. But if it’s the only thing you’re thinking and praying about, it might be time to trust him with it and move on to praying about something else.

2. Do you feel more peace after you pray or less?

Worry results in stress—prayer results in peace. It’s just that simple sometimes.

After you pray, do you feel more stress in your body? Is your jaw clenched? Your shoulders tight? A dizzy, sickly feeling residing in your stomach?

Emotions aren’t a reliable guide. But they are a good indicator to help us figure out what’s going on in our heads and hearts. What we think and meditate on can control what we feel. If the only thing you can think and pray about is something that makes you feel anxious, guess what? You’re going to feel anxious.

Prayer is such a good thing. I love being able to go to God with literally anything I have and talk to him about it. But the best part of prayer? The best part is knowing God is in complete and total control, and no matter what I do or say, He’s got the situation, and he loves me. Nothing can change that fact.

So let’s stop worrying and start trusting God.

Comment below, do you struggle with this? How do you combat worry?

One of the ways I started combating worry was by using biblical daily affirmations to change my thought-habits. Check out this free resource I made just for you!

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