girl worrying

“So don’t worry about having enough food or drink or clothing.  Why be like the pagans who are so deeply concerned about these things?  Your heavenly Father already knows all your needs, and he will give you all you need from day to day if you live for him and make the Kingdom of God our primary concern”.  Matthew 6:31-33

In today’s current financial climate, what is commonly called the ‘global economic crisis”, it is difficult not to worry about what the future holds.  People have lost jobs, their houses, cars and are generally finding it difficult to make ends meet.

“Worrying is like a rocking chair, it gives you something to do, but it gets you nowhere” – Glenn Turner

Worrying really gets you nowhere.  As a matter of fact there are two things you can do to stop worrying:

1. Don’t put yourself in a position to worry, and
2. Find a solution to your problem.

Let’s look at the first point.

What is the most common thing that most people worry about –  Money.

A lot of people spend more than they earn.  They borrow to get what they want quickly.  This causes debt and debt makes them worry about their finances.   Of course sometimes there is no choice to borrow money, but there must be proper planning, and proper planning is the key to living a successful life.

Then there are those who prefer to sit and worry about situations instead of finding solutions.  There is a solution to every problem.  Let’s use finances as an example.

You are in debt.  You are having diffulty paying your bills, and that has you worried.  The best thing to do is find a way to get out of debt.  Talk to your creditors, together you all can work out something.  When you have gotton rid of your debt, start saving and don’t put yourself in a position to be in debt again.

Then there are situations we have no control over.  Maybe you or someone you know has been diagnosed with a terminal illness such as cancer.  Worrying about death and your family is certainly understandable.  But the whole point of living a spiritual life is to be able to cope with life in general.  You will be able to face any situation that life brings in a confident and faith filled manner.

“Give all your worries and cares to God, for he cares about what happens to you.”  1 Peter 5:7

And then there are chronic worriers, those who worry about things that are not worth worrying over at all.  It is something that on their own they have no control over, but there is help, there always is.

“Don’t worry about anything; instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.  If you do this, you will experience God’s peace, which is far more wonderful than the human mind can understand.  His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus”.  Philippians 4:6-7

Whatever the problem in your life, there is help.  Worrying will not solve it, but prayer and faith in Jesus Christ certainly will.

The best type of prayer is simple, spontaneous prayer.  In other words pray whenever you feel the need.

In Matthew chapter 6, Jesus gives instructions on how to pray.  Here’s what he said in verse 7:

“When you pray, don’t babble on and on as people of other religions do.  They think their prayers are answered only by repeating their words again and again.  Don’t be like them because your Father knows exactly what you need even before you ask him!”

He then goes on to give an example of what to pray for by what we call the Lord’s prayer today.

God does not care about eloquence or how many fancy words you know.  He just wants to hear what is in your heart.  These are the prayers he listens and responds to.

Could you remember a time in your life when there was an emergency or something tragic happened and you called out to God for help?  Do you remember what you said?  It could have been a simple ‘please God, help”.  This would have come directly from the heart without you even having to think about it.

Simple prayers are effective prayers.  If you don’t know what to pray about just take the Apostle Paul’s advice:

“Don’t worry about anything, instead pray about everything.  Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done.”  Philippians 4:6

This is a very important aspect in developing your spiritual life.  Your quiet time should not be less than one hour.  You can break this down by spending 15 minutes praying, 30 minutes reading your bible and 15 minutes meditating.  Of course if you can devote more time to your quiet time, that’s even better.

You can add reading a spiritual book, listening to an audio sermon or gospel song.  Either way make God’s time the most important item on your agenda for the day.

If it is possible, try and make it the same time everyday.  It can be early morning or late evening.  Once you’ve developed a schedule it becomes easy.  Of course, with life being what it is, it may not be possible to keep this schedule everyday, however, whatever you do, try not to postpone it.  Always make time for your quiet time.

If you study the life of Jesus Christ, he always made time to pray and prayed often.

“The next morning Jesus awoke long before daybreak and went out alone into the wilderness to pray”.  Mark 1:35

“But Jesus often withdrew to the wilderness for prayer“.  Luke 5:16

“One day soon afterward Jesus went to a mountain to pray, and he prayed to God all night“.  Luke 6:16

Jesus always made time for his quiet time.  Even before his crucifixion, he prayed three times in one night.  This was how he got strength to face his final hours.

“Then Jesus brought them to an olive grove called Gethsemane and he said, “Sit here while I go on ahead to pray… He went on a little farther and fell face down on the ground praying, “My Father! If it is possible, let this cup of suffering be taken away from me.  Yet I want your will not mine.”  Then he returned to the disciples and found them asleep… Again he left them and prayed, “My Father! If this cup cannot be taken away until I drink it, your will be done.”  He returned to them again and found them sleeping, for they just couldn’t keep their eyes open.  So he went back to pray a third time, saying the same things again.”  Matthew 26:36-44

Once you’ve gotten into the habit of spending quality time with God, you can face any situation in your life, and thus, strengthen your spirituality.