Stress

(Phil 4:6,7 NLT) Don't worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank Him for all He has done. Then you will experience God's peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.

Around this time every year I normally teach on Christmas and then on receiving a vision for the New Year. I am still praying about teaching on vision, but this year, instead of teaching on Christmas, I feel led to teach on handling stress. Christmas time can be a very stressful time, even for believers. Another thing historically our suicide rates go up during the holiday season. And to add fuel to the proverbial fire, the economic situation in the United States has caused many to dread the Christmas season, because of what they may or may not be able to purchase for their families. With that in mind, I have been praying about this for a couple of weeks and I feel led to start this series this morning. I normally start new series' on Monday's, but I felt strongly that I could not delay this.

We will start our journey towards understanding how to Biblically handle stress with one of our greatest stress-relieving tools: PRAYER! In Paul's letter to the church in Philippi he teaches them about receiving and walking in the mind of Christ (2:5), about understanding the power we have in Christ (4:13), and the overwhelming joy that we can tap into by the power of the Holy Spirit (3:1 and 4:4). Sandwiched in all of this is Paul's admonition against worry and for prayer. If we don't control our impulses to worry, then stress (and getting 'stressed-out') is inevitable. Paul's answer to worry is prayer.

I remember when I first came to Christ one of the senior ladies in the church, one who I lovingly called "Mamma her name is Maria," used to say: "if you are going to pray, then don't worry. But if you are going to worry, then don't pray." Her advice sounds simple, but it is also profound. Why? Because you can't worry and trust at the same time. Simply put, if you worry it is because you don't trust God.

Paul's counsel was that we should take advantage of the direct access we have to the Father, in the name of Jesus, and take our issues to the Father in prayer. After we pray, then if we truly believe the Father has heard us and that He is going to manifest His glory, then we have no other option but to trust Him and walk in His peace. If we worry, after we have prayed, then it is an indictment against our faith. We will talk more about this tomorrow.

So what does this mean to you? It means that you should take advantage of the direct access you have to the Father, in the name of His Son Jesus, through the vehicle of prayer; and once you do you must then make a decision between trust and worry. If you believe the Father heard you in prayer and you believe He will respond to your faith, then trust is your only answer and you must resist every temptation to worry. But if you do worry, then it means you are not trusting God and if you don't get into trust quick, you might allow that worry to overtake your mind and heart. Once that happens you will find yourself stressed!

Father, I thank You for giving me direct access to You in prayer. I allow my prayer to order my day, instead of allowing my day to order my prayer. I pray, in Jesus' name, in accordance with Your Word, in faith, not doubting, and You hear and respond to my prayers. I thank You for always hearing me and for manifesting Your glory in my life in mighty ways. I am a believer and not a doubter, so when I pray I leave my prayer session with the confidence that You will respond to my faith. I resist every temptation to worry and I never allow negative stress to get a hold of my mind or my heart. I walk in Your grace, peace, and favor every day of my life. I live in a STRESS-FREE zone! In Jesus' name. Amen.

This is Today's Word! Apply it and Prosper!