A Suggested Prayer In Times of Fear
O Father,
My soul is anxious,
My mind unsettled,
My heart beats wildly,
My stomach churns in my fear and fretting.
All I have wanted,
All I have sought,
All I have planned for,
I fear will be lost.
I end each evening, weary from a day of worry
I begin each morning, exhausted from a night of fitful sleep
I find no rest in my labors,
No rest in my leisure;
No rest in society
And no rest in solitude.
Will I find favor with no one?
Will I ever recover?
Will my precious attainments be lost?
What will they think when my shame is exposed?
How will I endure the trials ahead?
A voice leads me and ever follows me,
Everywhere it calls, reminding me:
I am powerless and unprepared.
I am impure and imperfect.
I am timid and trembling,
Faced with a future I cannot govern.
Whenever I find my shortcomings,
I can find no calm.
Wherever I fail to control my world,
I am controlled by my worries.
However much I fret and fear,
There is no improvement or reprieve,
But deeper distress – greater grief –
For I realize, from my chains of terror,
I cannot free myself,
But can only intensify my bondage.
My fears expose my misplaced priorities,
My sinful passions,
And my hidden idolatries.
The things I love and long for,
I cannot protect or preserve.
I aim for worldly gain,
Ambitious for fleshly desires,
And anxious for earthly affirmation.
If I call to heaven, will you hear?
Will you bring me compassion or contempt?
Will you assist me, or abandon?
Relieve me, or reprimand?
Surely I deserve to be given over to myself,
Reaping the repayment of my own irreverence
Bound under my fearfulness,
Berated under my faithlessness,
Forever ensnared in the traps of my own trepidation.
Yet your Son calls to me,
“Come ye weary and heavy laden,
And I will give you rest.” (Matthew 11:28)
– To me?
I am weary! I am heavy laden!
Lord, is this word for me?
You say I should be anxious for nothing,
But should bring my requests before you,
That your otherworldly, enduring peace
May calm me and keep me (Philippians 4:6-7).
You say I should be anxious for nothing,
For you clothe the fields and feed the birds,
Supplying me with what is needed truth,
And enriching me with what I truly need (Matthew 6:25-33).
You say I should be anxious for nothing,
For I am not left alone,
But you, whom I trust, are with me and are mine.
You will support and sustain (Isaiah 41:10).
Though I fall, I will not fail,
For you establish my steps
And uphold my hand (Psalm 37:23-24)
Be gone, O quaking heart,
Be no more, O shaking soul,
Behold, I am a child and heir of God,
Dearly loved,
Eternally secure,
Having, not an enslaving spirit that confirms my fears,
But a freeing spirit that confirms my place
In the Father’s household of peace. (Romans 8:14-16).
What will it matter to lose the affirmation of my friends,
If I yet retain the approval of my Father?
What will it matter to lose all earthly goods,
If I yet possess a claim to eternal glory?
If my health is taken, I yet have a life to come.
If my house is taken, I yet have a lasting home.
If I lose my voice, my strength, my mind –
If I lose all ability to direct my future,
All is not lost,
For my Father has not lost me,
Nor will he, nor can he,
For no one can snatch me out of his hand (John 10:27-30).
You, O God, are certain, and your word is sure.
Though you oversee the whole universe,
No detail of my life is overlooked.
I entrust to you the whole of my life,
My past regrets,
My present restlessness,
My plans and priorities for the days to come,
Recognizing that you alone are Sovereign
The founder of goodness
The fountain of wisdom
And the liberator of those imprisoned by fear.
You did not withhold your Son,
But sent him to bring me life,
And to free me from corruption and death.
So I trust, you will not withhold your grace (Romans 8:32),
But will bring me peace,
And will free me from idolatry and anxiety –
If not immediately and totally,
Still effectively and truly,
Until my old flesh and fears lie dead,
And I rise to live forever with the king of shalom.
