"Cast all your anxiety on him, because he cares for you." 1 Peter 5.7
For most of us there are those moments when we can feel an anxious spirit beginning to creep up upon us. It is like a predator that ever so slowly gets closer and closer, until we can almost feels it's warm breath breathing down the nape of our neck. Sometimes the source of our anxiety is easy to diagnose: an upcoming confrontation, a lack of resources, a certain predicament that has ensnared us or a loved one. But other times our anxieties seem to be more vague and undefined, just a sense of uneasiness that begins to take over our thoughts. Here Peter gives us some sound advice when it comes to our anxieties---pray them over to the Lord. And there is an ancient prayer technique for doing this, it's called the prayer of relinquishment. Begin by closing your eyes and praying with your hands outstretched and your palms up. Feel the wait of your anxieties in the palm of your hands. Recognize and name them if you can. Then, recite the list again, this time slowly turning your hands so that your palms eventually will be facing down. After each anxiety is named (if it is unnameable then just call it 'anxiousness') say, "I give this to you O Lord." At the end of the prayer repeat the passage above from 1 Peter.
You might have to repeat this prayer over and over again, but my experience tells me that there is relief to be found and that Peter's advice is solid.
A prayer for the day: "Dear Heavenly Father, as we travel through the waters of fear and anxiety remind us that you are present, and encourage us to cast those things that would dampen our spirits unto you. Amen."
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