Jesus, say a prayer for me...

Today's post comes from Toya at Faith.Hope.Love - Inspiration for Life's Journey

“Simon, Simon, Satan has asked to sift each of you like wheat. But I have pleaded in prayer for you, Simon, that your faith should not fail. ” (Luke 22:31, 32 NLT)

Simon, I've prayed for you in particular that you not give in or give out...(Luke 22:32 MSG)

Have you ever felt that your faith was failing? That you've prayed, fasted and praised yourself into a "holy tizzy" but you still find yourself discouraged and faithless? Or that you've grown so tired of waiting on God that you no longer pray, dropped out of your bible study and would rather spend Sunday lying on the couch than going to the house of worship? 
 
There are certain situations and times in our life where we will be discouraged. Discouragement is a tool of the enemy to get us to give up on God and get distracted from our purpose. In my own life I've seen Satan use what I refer to as the the "triple threat" to weaken my faith : Doubt, Fear and Anxiety. 
 
Doubt: Anytime you've been believing God for something and there's been no breakthrough or change in a situation doubt can easily creep in. While you still may keep the request on your prayer list and make your petitions known to God and others, that doesn't always stop thoughts like "can God really fix it?" or "whats the point in praying?" to take over and chip away at your faith. I often hear people say "Well I believe God CAN do anything but I just don't believe he will do it for MY situation". Sound familiar, huh? I've come to learn that kind of thinking is a trick of the enemy. If not dealt with quickly, doubt can become a hindrance to the very prayer we are already "wishy washy" about. 
 
Fear: Once Satan has planted a seed of doubt into our mind, fear is usually the next culprit to strike. Satan wants us to become fearful that our situations won't turn around and our prayers will never be answered. Having fear of what your future holds instead of hopeful expectations can be a recipe for disaster. When you operate out of fear you can begin to think the surest way to get your desired outcome is by manipulating people and situations to take control. If we are controlling a situation, this leaves no room for God to work a miracle, which is exactly what our enemy wants to happen. While fear is a common feeling we all have, we don't have to give in to our fears to the point where they hinder our faith. We have to confront our fears and fight back with an unshakeable confidence that trusts in Gods perfect plan. I love how Joyce Meyer says it: "Fear is a dead end but Faith always has a future" 
 
Anxiety: Now that the enemy has us doubting Gods power and fearful of the future he uses feelings of anxiety to completely wear us down! The root meaning of the word anxiety is: 'to vex or trouble'; in either presence or absence of psychological stress. So even if there is no REAL danger, stress or threat anxiety can still come up on us (it's all in our mind!) 

Playing out all the "what if" scenarios only lead to worry, dread, uneasiness and depression. We can getso caught up in worry about things that may or may not happen that we lose focus on what's happening in our life now!

Matthew 6:34 MSG translation says : "Give your entire attention to what God is doing right now, and don't get worked up about what may or may not happen tomorrow. God will help you deal with whatever hard things come up when the time comes."

Worrying about the future will not accomplish anything or make your prayers get answered faster. We have to trust God and his timing, he will give us all we need to persevere through any pain. 
 
At some point, most of us will be hit with the "triple threat". However, isn't it encouraging to know that we have a savior who is interceding for us? The same way he did for Peter we have to believe that he can and will do the same for us. If the enemy is attacking you with doubt, fear and anxiety, I invite you to say this simple prayer: 
 
Jesus, I come to you asking you to replace my doubts with belief (Mark 9:23, 24) and help me confront my fears with hopeful expectations that you have a perfect plan for my life (Jer 29:11). When I begin to worry and be anxious about circumstances beyond my control help me to be content with my portion and seek your peace that passes all understanding so that my faith will remain strong. (Philippians 4:6,7) Lord I trust you with my whole heart and I'm grateful that you know just what I need. Thank you for covering me in your love. 
Amen 

Love Casts Out Fear

This week's post comes from Salina at State of the Heart

Psalm 29:11
"The Lord will give strength to His people; The Lord will bless His people with peace." NKJV

Fear has the tendency to sweep in, curl around inside your body, and burrow deep into your mind. It takes over all normal thought processes and leaves you with a feeling so strong it can only be described as panic. This attack continues until you reach a point where you're sure your heart is going to explode, your legs might fall out from under you, and breathing no longer becomes quite so automatic.

King David was in the midst of these feelings when he wrote Psalm 55." My heart beats violently within me; the horrors of death overcome me. Fear and panic overpower me; terror overwhelms me. I say, "I wish I had wings like a dove! I would fly away and settle in a safe place! Look, I will escape to a distant place; I will stay in the wilderness. I will hurry off to a place that is safe from the strong wind and the gale." (55:3-8).

There are times when I understand exactly how David felt. I too would like to run away from my fears; I'd like to run so fast and so far that eventually I would outrun everything that troubles me. I've reached a point in my life though where I know fear can take such a hold of the body that if left unchecked it will carve away at your soul as though it was a cancerous growth. The more you try to run from it, the stronger that hold becomes, until eventually it will eat through every living cell in your body.

I can’t explain why fear leaves us feeling so powerless, but I guess it's one of the negative consequences of allowing fear into our lives; we start out believing we have the ability to control what happens to us, but in actuality we don't. There is only one way to control our fears. When David continued writing his Psalms, I believe that by chapter fifty six, verse eleven he discovered the way to alleviate this pain and fear. He wrote, "In God I have put my trust; I will not be afraid. What can man do to me?" (Psalm 56:11)

I keep replaying that verse in my head and every time I come to the part that says "what can man do to me" I picture whatever problem I’m facing at the time and read it as "I will not be afraid. What can ____________do to me?" From personal experience I know how paralyzingly fear can be, but God has the cure to remove it. I don't have to fear anyone or anything, there is nothing too big for God to handle, there is nothing He doesn't understand, and He will continue to grant me all the strength and peace I need to get through each and every problem I face. I’m so thankful to have "the peace of God that surpasses all understanding to guard my heart and mind in Christ Jesus." (Philippians 4:7)

Please pray with me:
Dear Lord;
We all experience fear at different times in our lives, but You tell us do not fear for You will bless us with peace, the kind of peace that surpasses our understanding. We may not know what the future holds, but we do know that whatever may come You will be there to give us the strength to get through it, and the ability to face it without fear.
Amen