Journey of Prayer, Step 3

1
Journey of Prayer, Step 3

• Worries and Concerns

2
25 "Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your
life, what you will eat or drink or about your
body, what you will wear. Is not life more
important than food, and the body more important
than clothes? 26 Look at the birds of the air
they do not sow or reap or store away in barns,
and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you
not much more valuable than they? 27 Who of you
by worrying can add a single hour to his life ?
28 "And why do you worry about clothes? See how
the lilies of the field grow. They do not labor
or spin. 29 Yet I tell you that not even Solomon
in all his splendor was dressed like one of
these.
3
30 If that is how God clothes the grass of the
field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown
into the fire, will he not much more clothe you,
O you of little faith? 31 So do not worry,
saying, 'What shall we eat?' or 'What shall we
drink?' or 'What shall we wear?' 32 For the
pagans run after all these things, and your
heavenly Father knows that you need them. 33 But
seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and
all these things will be given to you as well. 34
Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for
tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has
enough trouble of its own. Matthew 625-34
4
Last week

• The noises of life compete with God for our
  attention
• We have no control over these things
• We need to focus upon God and place the noises to
  the side

5
This is easier said than done

• These noises cause stress and worry
• Worry is natural
• Yet, we can either hold onto the worry or give it
  to God

6
Quotes of the Day

• Not a shred of evidence exists in favor of the
  idea that life is serious. Brendan Gill
• Life is critical, but not serious. Woody Allen
• Happy is the man who has broken the chains which
  hurt the mind, and has given up worrying once and
  for all. Ovid
• Blessed is the person who is too busy to worry
  in the daytime and too sleepy to worry at night.
  Unknown
• Worry is a misuse of imagination. Dan Zadra
• The reason why worry kills more people than work
  is that more people worry than work. Robert
  Frost

7
Worry does not empty tomorrow of sorrow - it
empties today of strength. Corrie ten Boom
8
Dwelling on our worries negatively affects our
lives

• 1. It is destructive to our
• Health
• Emotions
• Family
• Future
• Relationships
• Faith
• 2. We pass our worry on to our children

9
How do we address a childs worries?

• We take the burden of the child on our back
• We become responsible to guide the child through
  the landmines of their life

10
God promises to do the same thing for us

• God takes our burdens
• God provides for todays concerns
• Gods provision does not always come when we want
  it or how we want it
• But, Gods provision always comes

11
A Time of Prayer

• Step 3 Letting Go of Worries and Concerns

12
Take some slow deep breaths and relax. Begin to
let go of the tensions in your body. Feel the
pressure and busyness slipping away. As you draw
breath, think of how your body is using oxygen.
It is being carried to every part of your body.
Feel the life it brings.
13
As you exhale, you breathe out carbon dioxide
which you dont need. Trees and plants take
this in. They then produce oxygen which
sustains you. You are an integral part of
Gods mysterious and wonderful creation.
14
In front of you is a pile of stones and a pool of
water. Take a stone from the pile. Imagine that
all your concerns and worries are held in the
stone. Hold the stone tightly and name the
concerns and worries in your mind. Hold the
stone over the pool of water. In your own time
let it go.
15
Watch your concerns and worries fall. Imagine
them falling into Gods lap. How does it feel to
release them?
16
(No Transcript)