Prayer is the ultimate anxiety killer.
Now – I’m not talking about uncommon anxieties, many of which require counseling and sometimes even medicine (although the following principle is still helpful even in these more uncommon situations).
I’m speaking primarily today of common anxieties that plague us all. Prayer kills this kind of anxiety. At least it’s supposed to. I think many of us, however, find that’s not the case. Let’s take a close look at a verse in 1 Peter chapter 5:
“Cast all your anxiety on him because he cares for you.” – 1 Peter 5:7 NIV
Here’s why this doesn’t frequently work for us: we’re not actually doing it. We are just trying it. And there’s a difference. When I want to buy a car, I can go to the dealership and I can look at the car. I can get inside of the car and imagine driving it. I can even take it for a test drive and actually drive it. Will I get a sense of what it’s like to drive this car everywhere and use it frequently? Yes. But just a sense – nothing more. I can’t really get an idea of what it would be like to actually own this car. I can’t get a full idea of what it would be like to drive it around everywhere, take road trips in it, and go to work in it every day. And that’s because I’m just trying it.
When it comes to “casting our anxieties on him because he cares…” I think many of us are just test drivers. We try prayer once or twice when we feel anxious. And we might feel a little better for a few minutes, maybe even longer. But it’s not long before the same old worry creeps back into our consciousness and we’re back in the anxiety loop.
And our conclusion? It didn’t work. “I tried, God. I tried to do what you told me to do. I tried to cast my anxiety and it didn’t really make a difference.”
Well, you’re right. You tried it. Like a test drive. But you didn’t fully buy in. In the Greek of 1 Peter 5:7, the word translated “cast” is what is known as a participle. That’s a big, complicated word that basically means that a verb isn’t defined specifically by time. It’s something that is kind of always happening. Here’s a good example: “The running man.” Well, when is the man running? Did he already run? Is he going to run? Did he run once? Nope. He’s the Running Man. He’s just kind of always running.
If prayer is going to kill our common anxiety (and even seriously diminish the uncommon ones), it cannot be a one-time event for us. And it cannot be on a care-by-care basis, either. We can’t just be a test driver on this thing and assume we’ll experience the full-on benefits of ownership. Prayer doesn’t work like that. You have to do more than just try it. Yoda was right on this one: “Do or do not. There is no try.”
The only way that we can successfully “cast our cares” on God is if we do it continually. Every single day, multiple times a day. Think about it: how often does a current care break through to the front of your mind? In order to cast it, you must pray it to God at least as many times as you think about it. That’s going to be more than once or twice, I’m guessing.
Cares continuously casted on God are the only ones you will find yourself no longer carrying at the end of the day. Here’s what few pastors want to tell you about prayer: it’s hard work. Prayer is hard. It’s not easy. It’s simple, but it’s not easy. And not only do you have daily anxieties, but you have a daily enemy who is ready and willing to give you a good enough reason not to pray.
But the work is worth it. How do I know this? Because of the second half of verse 7:
“…because he cares for you.” – Peter, speaking about God. On good authority.
God’s not going to leave you hanging here. He just doesn’t do that. He wants to shoulder the load, but you’ve gotta buy in. When you try something, you’ve still got your money in your bank account. You’re not all in. So, go all in. Pray like your peace of mind depends on it.
Because it does.
S
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