The Anxiety Epidemic
Anxiety is in the news. Some say it is an epidemic. Some say that the fault is cell phones. I’m sure the news doesn’t help.
With humility, without judgment, with a personal realization that life can sometimes be excruciatingly difficult, and with only compassion for those of you who suffer from anxiety, I’d like to share some thoughts that help me.
In the midst of His Sermon on the Mount, Jesus taught us to pray (Matthew 6:9-13). His words, known as the Lord’s Prayer, are familiar to many.
When I go past the familiarity and dig deeper into Jesus’ words, they are profoundly comforting to me. I like to think about its words for me, for those closest to me, and for the whole world.
Our Father who is in heaven,
God is the Father of everyone in the world–even of our enemies. He is the Father of everyone in the news, everyone I love, everyone in my house.
Hallowed be Your name.
God is holy. He is good. He is love.
Your kingdom come.
In Colossians 1:13, we learn that God has rescued His children “from the domain of darkness, and transferred us to the kingdom of His beloved Son.” God loves everyone in the world and wants everyone in the world to be in His kingdom. We can pray that everyone in the world will submit to the King of the universe — and that He will help us and our children allow Him to be King in our hearts.
Your will be done,
On earth as it is in heaven.
God’s will is perfect. It is the solution for every problem in our lives individually and for every problem in our country and in the world. In heaven, God’s will is supreme. We can pray for His will to be done on earth, too.
Give us this day our daily bread.
God is the provider of everything we have and everything we need. Psalm 104 says that even the young lions seek their food from God. Paul wrote to the Philippians in chapter 4, verse 19: “And my God will supply all your needs according to His riches in glory in Christ Jesus.” We can give God every worry.
And forgive us our debts, as we also have forgiven our debtors.
We are sinners. We need forgiveness. Other people need it, too, from God and from us. This verse teaches us about struggles–from personal relationships to world wars. God cares about everything that we care about.
And do not lead us into temptation, but deliver us from evil.
The world pulls us to evil. It pulls our children to evil. The results are devastating in the human heart, in families, in our country, and in the world. As Peter writes in 1 Peter 5:8, our adversary, the devil, prowls around like a roaring lion, seeking someone to devour. But we have a Father Who wants to deliver us from evil–and protect us from those devastating results that happen when we let evil come into our lives. We can pray that God will deliver our world, our children, and ourselves from evil.
For Yours is the kingdom and the power and the glory forever. Amen.
God is in charge. He is all-knowing. He has every answer. We can trust him like a little child trusts her loving parents.
Jesus’ words in the Lord’s Prayer give us detailed assurance that we can confidently do what Paul wrote to the Philippians.
Be anxious for nothing,
but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving
let your requests be made known to God.
Philippians 4:6Â