A Calming Prayer for Anxiety, Worry, and Fear
The hollow growl of a thunderstorm awakens me well past midnight. I turn to look out the open window and watch the skyline flicker white. Four sleepless hours later, I lie on my back and utter a calming prayer with the hopes of quieting the noise inside my head . . .
A Calming Prayer for Anxiety, Worry, and Fear
My calming prayer goes like this: “You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you.”
The prayer is from Isaiah 26:3.
It’s a promise for peace to cover us as we place our trust in God and keep our thoughts fixed on him. But what does it look like to claim this promise when you’ve been lying awake for hours, knowing that the alarm clock will soon call you to begin a new day?
What does it look like to claim this perfect peace when the diagnosis is grim, the marriage is falling apart, the job is lost, or the demands of life feel suffocating?
As I consider this calming prayer for peace, I think of everything that’s stealing my peace.
Life’s been full here lately.
Our schedule is stretched.
Weekends are filled to the brim, the house is in a constant state of disarray, at least two family members are bickering at any given moment throughout the average day, the laundry baskets are never empty, and I can never seem to catch up on writing work.
As I stare at the ceiling amid the sleepless night, a gentle thought passes through my mind. It goes something like this: Where is your peace? Is it found in organization, cleanliness, and control? Or is it found in God?
Where Is Your Peace?
I know the answer.
All too often, my inner peace is contingent upon feeling like I’m caught up at work and home. When I’m meeting writing deadlines, the house is clean, and the kids are thriving, I have peace.
Sadly, when I find my peace by keeping control over my circumstances, I’ve placed my peace on shifting sands.
Sadly, when I place my peace in circumstantial order, I’ve placed my peace on shifting sands. #peace #peaceofGod #Godspeace Share on XGod promises peace for those who trust in him—even when everything else feels chaotic and stressful.
We find peace by learning to keep our thoughts fixed on him.
Your anxiety, worry, or fear might be far more serious than a shift to a busier schedule. Perhaps a loved one is fighting a battle between life and death or your future looks uncertain. Regardless of your situation, let’s look at several ways to keep our thoughts fixed on the Lord as we pray this calming prayer for peace.
How to Put This Calming Prayer Into Action
1. Read God’s Word.
Fixing our thoughts on God requires a renewal of the mind. In the flesh, our minds tend to focus on our problems. If we want to think God’s thoughts, we need God to renew our minds.
God uses Scripture to renew our minds. He shapes our minds as we read his Word.
Throughout certain seasons of my life, I’ve fallen into the habit of picking and choosing my daily Scripture readings. There’s nothing wrong with jumping around or doing a quick search to find a verse to speak into a situation. Yet reading through the whole Bible offers a deep kind of renewal that can be found nowhere else.
Whether we read through a one-year reading plan, a chronological Bible, or simply start at the beginning and read a set number of pages per day, God’s Word will change us. He uses his Word to help us fix our thoughts on him.
2. Memorize God’s Word.
I memorized large passages of Scripture throughout my twenties. Much to my frustration, after becoming a mom, weariness pulled me from the discipline.
In his book Life Without Lack, Dallas Willard wrote that memorizing Scripture is the primary way God works to renew our minds. After reading this quote shortly after turning 40, I renewed my commitment to memorizing Scripture. I find that the more I focus on the Word, the more quickly my thoughts return to him in overwhelming moments.
3. Speak God’s Word.
Speaking God’s Word out loud reminds us of what is true. God’s Word also holds authority in the spiritual realm. When Satan tempted Jesus in the desert, Jesus spoke God’s Word in response.
Isaiah 26:3 is a calming prayer because praying God’s Word anchors our hearts in eternal truths. We align ourselves with the Prince of Peace, and his peace becomes our peace.
4. Dwell on God’s Word.
In Deuteronomy 11:18-21 (NLT), God’s people are reminded to hold God’s Word close to their hearts at all times:
“So commit yourselves wholeheartedly to these words of mine. Tie them to your hands and wear them on your forehead as reminders. Teach them to your children. Talk about them when you are at home and when you are on the road, when you are going to bed and when you are getting up. Write them on the doorposts of your house and on your gates, so that as long as the sky remains above the earth, you and your children may flourish in the land the LORD swore to give your ancestors.”
These words hold true for us today.
When we learn to dwell on God’s Word, we will flourish.
God wants his Word to be imbibed in our hearts and minds in such a way that we talk about his Word throughout our days, naturally share his Word with our loved ones, and remind ourselves of his Word when we are at home and in our communities.
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I finally fall asleep shortly before dawn. As expected, the youngest awakens me just as birdsong sounds through the open window.
“You will keep in perfect peace all who trust in you, all whose thoughts are fixed on you,” I pray, and I climb from bed to begin the work of the day.
A Free Resource to Help You Remember to Pray This Calming Prayer More Often
Do you want to learn to quickly identify and overcome Satan’s primary battle strategy? The enemy wants nothing more than to immobilize you and distract you as he sends his flaming arrows in your direction using this strategy. Download a free chapter of my book, Lean Into Grace, and learn two powerful ways to take the weapon meant to destroy you and turn it back on the enemy. Download it for free right here.
Calling all moms and daughters!
Additionally, my teen daughter, Bekah, and I are passionate about helping moms and daughters grow closer while connecting with God. We have written two mother-daughter devotionals together. Girl to Girl: 60 Mother-Daughter Devotions for a Closer Relationship and Deeper Faith is written for girls ages 7-12. It includes 60 devotions with Scripture, conversation starters, and a shared journaling section after each devotion.
Heart to Heart: A Mother-Daughter Devotional With 50 Devotions for Teen Girls is for teenage girls ages 13-20. It includes 50 devotions, each with a shared journaling section to help moms and daughters connect through writing. This is a great book for moms who want to communicate about awkward topics—like dating, purity, peer pressure, and more—but don’t know where to start. We will help you!
Multitudes of mothers, daughters, mentors, and younger women are being transformed by these books! You can buy them as paperbacks or get your free Kindle Unlimited eBooks on Amazon right here.
