WORRY OR PRAY: YOU CHOOSE -- Devotional for June 10, from "Good Seeds"

Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God your needs, and don’t forget to thank Him for His answers. (Philippians 4:6)

When I asked my severteen year old granddaughter for her favorite Bible verse, she named a few typical ones. Remembering that she was memorizing the book of Philippians, I said, “What about a verse from Philippians?” “Oh yeah. Okay, how about Philippians 4:6-7,” and she promptly rattled it off word for word. But then she paused and said, “You know, that’s a lot harder than it sounds.” “What is?” I queried. “Well, there are a lot of things I may wonder about but they don’t really bother me. But then there’s my future; you know, things like college and boyfriends.” With that her sisters chimed in with more questions about what she’ll do after college, where she’ll live if she’s not married by then, and on and on until she said, “Enough already! You’re getting me uptight.” Life indeed is full of unknowns. For some of these it’s almost a delight to just wait and see what God will do; but for others there’s no joy at all, but just anxiety that life won’t turn out the way we want it to. Well, it is concerning THESE things that we are exhorted to pray. Yes, everything that troubles you or makes you anxious becomes the agenda for your prayer petition to the Lord. Welcome each concern as one more thing to talk over with God. This reminds me of a song: “You’ve got to turn it over to Jesus; yes, turn it over to Jesus. When you turn it over to Jesus you can smile the rest of the day.” Make your list; then present it to God in prayer, with full confidence that “He’s got it all in control. Yes, He’s put that reassurance way down in my soul: He’s got it all in control” (another song). Have you ever heard someone pray (or have you prayed this way yourself): “…and Lord, we’ll thank You ahead of time for what You’re going to do.” That’s putting faith to work: thanking God now for what He’s yet to do for you. If it is true that “Whatsoever is not of faith is sin” (Romans 14:23), then it must be equally true that the prayer of faith will be absolutely pleasing to God. When we trust Him like that there will then be nothing hindering Him from bringing about His perfect will in your life, whether it be guiding you, and providing for you, throughout your college days, or bringing you into the relationships that He knows are best for you, and the best way you can bring glory to Him, whether they be kinship, friendship, or marriage. In your Scripture memory, learn John 3:16 and Ephesians 2:8-9, but maybe the next one should be this wonderful verse in Philippians, to remind you that you never need to worry – if you know how to pray!