Don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray.
Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers,
letting God know your concerns.

Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ
displaces worry at the center of your life.

// Philippians 4:6-7 MSG

Sometimes reading the Bible seems like the author knows me personally. Like Paul sat down and wrote his letters to me or people I know who are going through difficult times.

That is how I feel every time I read much of the fourth chapter of Philippians.

What it reveals is that we today are no different in our nature than the believers in Philippi. Thousands of years later, we still need to be reminded to…

Pump our breaks,
breathe,
and think on God rather than our problems.

Rather than ruminate on all that we have going on in our lives and in the world,
we need to flip the script.

So, as often scripture does, we are given the simple and profound instructions we need.

Paul writes, don’t fret or worry. Instead of worrying, pray. Let petitions and praises shape your worries into prayers.

Right now, take a second
to grab a hold of that worry
you were just thinking through
and turn it into a prayer.
Go one step further
and turn it into a praise!

Amen.

Does that not take some weight off your shoulders?

As Paul writes,
Before you know it, a sense of God’s wholeness,
everything coming together for good,
will come and settle you down.
It’s wonderful what happens when Christ
displaces worry at the center of your life.

That phrase “settle you down” – can I get a Hallelujah?!

My analytical mind is comforted simply by reading that description of how turning a worry into pray changes the game. And, what science knows now is that these kind of techniques can literally rewire your brain!

Instead of telling everyone about you cares, pray.
Instead of searching WebMD or Google, pray.
Instead of casting your frustrations on Facebook, pray.
Instead of worrying, pray.
Instead, pray.