Releasing the Rush before Rest - Your Nightly Prayer - October 4th

Your Nightly Prayer

Audio By Carbonatix

By Britt Mooney, Crosswalk.com

Your Nightly Prayer

Your Nightly Prayer
Releasing the Rush Before Rest
by Britt Mooney

TONIGHT’S SCRIPTURE

“In peace I will lie down and sleep, for you alone, LORD, make me dwell in safety.” - Psalm 4:8

SOMETHING TO PONDER

Most of us have an amazing talent. We can find a host of things to worry about.

In a matter of moments, we focus on a current problem or perhaps a difficult situation. We even imagine things that could go wrong tomorrow or in the future. Many times, we have a host of issues on our mind, leading us down a path of anxiety.

God calls us away from worry and into trust. Yet it's rarely effective to tell someone else not to worry. It seems impossible for us to simply stop worrying. Similarly, when someone says, “Don’t think of a purple elephant,” we often do the opposite—a purple elephant pops into our thoughts. What we need is a better focus, a higher reality as a goal.

Because he loves us, God does this. He tells us not to worry, but helps us accomplish it by transforming our thinking, shifting our focus from this world to himself. When we worry, we place some level of trust in things that will let us down, guaranteed—our own strength, ability, or someone else’s. The Father’s love calls us to place our trust in his promise and ability, which will never fail, even more guaranteed.

The Lord offers his peace, which pre-existed us and will last forever. We enter that peace in Christ, receiving it as a gift, something we can’t produce alone. We enter his peace by trusting God (his love, promises, power, goodness, etc.). The Father’s peace comes with his presence, and he has promised to always be with us.

This doesn’t dismiss or ignore our problems. In shifting our thinking and focus, we hand them over to the only one who can make us “dwell in safety.” God’s safety doesn’t depend upon circumstance or the things of this world, but simply and powerfully himself. Trusting him, seeking his face, we quiet the mind and lie in peace.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Heavenly Father,
I confess how my heart and mind often run to worry, whether real or imagined troubles. Yet you call me to trust and peace. Shift my focus from fear and worry to your unshakable love and promises. Teach me to lay down every burden at your feet, knowing you alone keep me dwelling in safety. Fill me with the Spirit of Peace, the shalom the world can’t give, and quiet my mind as I focus on you. I trust and rest in you.
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

1. What current issues in your life tempt you to worry?

2. How has God come through for you in the past? How has God worked in secret to help you in the past?

3. What are some ways to seek to focus on God’s promises, trusting him, especially in light of the issues you mentioned in #1?

Britt Mooney lives and tells great stories. As an author of fiction and non-fiction, he is passionate about teaching ministries and nonprofits the power of storytelling to inspire and spread truth. Mooney has a podcast called Kingdom Over Coffee and is a published author of We Were Reborn for This: The Jesus Model for Living Heaven on Earth as well as Say Yes: How God-Sized Dreams Take Flight.