Hey sweet friend,
It’s Wednesday morning and your alarm is going off. You reach out of the covers for your phone to hit the snooze button and your eyes feel SO heavy. No way you got eight hours of sleep. But sure enough, you’ve been in bed for the amount of time all the health experts recommend.
Your energy is low (you feel like you need three cups of coffee just to make it to the bathroom to wash your face) and your mood is even lower.
The plan you had to start your day with a quiet devotion and prayer now seems overwhelming. You don’t want to face the day, what could you possibly have to say to God?
You know you should pray, but honestly, is it even worth his time to listen to you ramble?
Bring your anxiety to God
During some of the darkest times in my life, it felt almost impossible to pray. I felt like I was letting God down, like I was unworthy to talk to him.
At least in my experience, when you’re dealing with intense anxiety or depression, it saps your energy and takes up all your focus. Your thoughts are obsessed with how messed up you feel. You might feel like you don’t have any praise to offer God, you don’t think your words are good enough for him, or you’re such a mess that he shouldn’t listen to you anyway. Your prayer life suffers.
During that time in my own life I heard this verse often –
“Do not be anxious about anything, 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 your minds in Christ Jesus.”
Philippians 4:6 [ESV]
Instead of being comforted, I really struggled with that verse. I knew that I was failing Jesus’s command “do not be anxious.” I thought that since I WAS anxious, my prayers were no good at all.
During the time that I healed from depression, God showed me that it was in that dark space that he wanted to meet me. My prayers were definitely full of concern and anxieties. But through Scripture devotions and quiet time learning to hear his voice, I learned that he wanted me to bring those concerns to him. He wants you to bring your anxiety to him.
“Humble yourselves, therefore, under the mighty hand of God so that at the proper time he may exalt you, casting all your anxieties on him, because he cares for you.”
1 Peter 5:6 [ESV]
Praying is about coming to God in humility, as his child. Yes, you have anxieties. Yes, you have messed up. You might feel like a mess. But he cares for you.
Make a simple request
When you’re in a dark place, prayer is about trusting God to handle it. Even if you don’t have a beautiful prayer to offer, you can make a simple a request for God to be with you. God hears that. I mean, just think about the criminal on the cross next to Jesus. This man was a thief who was being crucified for his real crimes. He didn’t deny that he was guilty – actually he confessed it. He tells the other criminal that “we are receiving the due reward of our deeds” (Luke 23:41). He knows he has messed up and he deserves what he is facing – public humiliation, suffering, and death.
But he turns to Jesus. He makes a pretty bold request given the circumstances, a bold request that shows his faith in Jesus’ goodness.
He says, “Jesus, remember me when you come into your kingdom” (Luke 23:42).
He doesn’t try to justify what he’s done and he doesn’t blame anyone for what’s happening to him. He makes a simple request for God to remember him. It’s such an amazing example that this thief sees past where he is right now. I mean, physically, in this story, at the moment the thief makes his request – Jesus is hanging on a cross. But the thief looks past the circumstances and trusts that Jesus will conquer. He knows that Jesus is going to reign. And he believes that Jesus is not only powerful, but merciful, and that he will remember him.
Jesus answers the thief by saying, “today you will be with me in paradise” (Luke 23:43). Today! In paradise!
Cry Out to God
We are all unworthy without Jesus. And when you feel that unworthiness, call out to God. It’s the best thing you can do. God cares for you and he remembers you, even in the mess of whatever is going on in your life.
Shame and guilt from mental illness (and honestly, just life) can drag us down. But honest prayer with God provides so much relief.
That peace that Philippians talks about is real. Try to think of it as a promise rather than a command.
Jesus is not a lawgiver but he came to fulfill the law for us (Matthew 5:17). Think of “do not be anxious” as the promise of peace that comes from handing over to God the thoughts that are weighing you down.
Remember how powerful, merciful, and loving Jesus is, and you will not need to write beautiful poetry in order to pray.
Focus on God and cry out to him and he will bring you that promised peace.
“With my voice I cry out to the LORD;
with my voice I plead for mercy to the LORD.
I pour out my complaint before him;
I tell my trouble before him…
I cry to you, O LORD;
I say, ‘You are my refuge,
my portion in the land of the living.’”
Psalm 142:1-2,5
3 Responses
Amen!
I love this perspective. Thank you.
“Jesus is not a lawgiver but he came to fulfill the law for us (Matthew 5:17). Think of “do not be anxious” as the promise of peace that comes from handing over to God the thoughts that are weighing you down.”
Thanks for reading! So glad you’re here.