Prayer Is the Antidote to Worry, Part 1
David W Palmer
(Philippians 4:6–7 NKJV) Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made known to God; {7} and the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and minds through Christ Jesus.
Faith filled prayer based on our covenant with Father through Jesus is the [only true] solution to worry. Anxiety, anguish, and mental pressure are not your friends; they are branches of the enemy’s work, which he sends to steal, kill, and destroy (See: John 10:10). This is why God’s word makes it clear that we should resist the devil steadfast in the faith:
(1 Peter 5:8–10 NKJV) Be sober, be vigilant; because your adversary the devil walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. {9} Resist him, steadfast in the faith …”
Jesus revealed that worry is a deadly enemy to his mission—his aspiration for his word to produce kingdom fruit for his Father. He wants the word of his kingdom to take root and grow to harvest in the hearts of people everywhere. But, our Lord reveals that one of the enemy’s strategies for preventing this is simply an overload of worry:
(Mark 4:18–19 NLT) “The seed that fell among the thorns represents others who hear God’s word, {19} but all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries of this life, the lure of wealth, and the desire for other things, so no fruit is produced.”
Then, when speaking of dangers facing his people at the time of his return, Jesus said:
(Luke 21:34 NKJV) “But take heed to yourselves, lest your hearts be weighed down with carousing, drunkenness, and cares of this life, and that Day come on you unexpectedly.”
To illustrate the devastating counter-productiveness of worry, God’s word has the following story; it happened directly after Jesus taught on the dangers of worries and “cares.” Note that it opens by saying it was the same day that Jesus said, “all too quickly the message is crowded out by the worries (cares) of this life”:
(Mark 4:35–41 NKJV) On the same day, when evening had come, He said to them, “Let us cross over to the other side.” ... {37} And a great windstorm arose, and the waves beat into the boat, so that it was already filling. {38} But He was in the stern, asleep on a pillow. And they awoke Him and said to Him, “Teacher, do You not care that we are perishing?” {39} Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm. {40} But He said to them, “Why are you so fearful? How is it that you have no faith?” {41} And they feared exceedingly, and said to one another, “Who can this be, that even the wind and the sea obey Him!”
Jesus’s trainees didn’t respond to the storm in the way he had taught them. Instead, they accepted the devil’s deadly temptation to worry: “Do you not care that we are perishing?” Jesus’s disciples accepted the devil’s doubts that God’s command to go to the other side of the lake was sufficient. In other words, they became double-minded—wavering between faith and unbelief, obedience and fear. They even tried to get Jesus to worry (care) with them: “Do you not care?” Instead, he pinpointed their problem; they were “fearful” and had “no faith.” This is what led to their having allowed worry to potentially steal their lives. As well as correcting his apprentices, the Master showed them how to deal with the enemy’s attempts to distract from the objective of God’s command: “Let us cross over to the other side”:
(Mark 4:39 NKJV) Then He arose and rebuked the wind, and said to the sea, “Peace, be still!” And the wind ceased and there was a great calm.
We need to remind ourselves that worry was the symptom—and it could have so easily taken their lives and thwarted God’s instruction—but fear and unbelief were the cause.
