Daily Devotionals
Why Pray? Pt. 2
Posted in Fear/Anxiety
Prayers of Affirmation Change Perspectives
Scripture: “God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore we will not we fear, though the earth be removed, and though the mountains be carried into the midst of the sea; though the waters thereof roar and be troubled, though the mountains shake with the swelling thereof.” (Psalm 46:1-3)
Don’t we all want peace for our inner turmoil? How do we change our anxious hearts? Continuing from yesterday’s devotional, we do it through prayer. Specifically, it’s a special kind of prayer called the prayer of affirmation.
The kind of prayer that brings peace and power always involves affirmation– positive affirmation of faith in God, placing divine strength at the center of our lives, and crowding anxiety, apprehension and fears off the edge.
Each new day seems to bring us new anxiety and dismay. How frightful such days can be! Our Savior had such days. Did he not in Gethsemane exclaim, “My soul is exceedingly sorrowful, even unto death”? (Matthew 26:38) So, too, at Caessarea Philippi His anxieties and worry crowded into the center of his heart and mind– until he prayed– and his perspective changed. With the changing of his perspective came the change of his countenance. Great convictions that had sustained him in previous days marched into his soul, along with confidence and courage.
Real prayer is not begging; it is affirmation which changes our perspective. “Yea, though I walk through the valley of the shadow of death, I will fear no evil, for Thou art with me.” (Psalm 23:4) That is a prayer of affirmation!
“God is our refuge and strength, a very present help in trouble. Therefore will not we fear….” (Psalm 46:1) That is a prayer of affirmation!
“They who wait for the Lord shall renew their strength; they shall mount up with wings like eagles; they shall run, and not be weary; they shall walk, and not faint.” (Isaiah 40:31) That is a prayer of affirmation: a prayer which carries into the troubled soul convictions and reassurances which crowd out anxieties and apprehensions.
If you want to pray, but find that you have difficulty saying what your soul needs to say, open the prayer book of the Bible. Read the Psalms as your prayer to the Father.
The prayer of affirmation changes the countenance of our faces because it changes our perspective on all the anxieties of life.
Prayer: Lord, why should I be afraid or stressed? You are my light for darkness, my salvation for failure, my stronghold against weakness and inadequacy. Amen.
Submitted by Judy Holmes