Every student of the Bible knows that God forbids worry and urges us to pray. Sadly sometimes we don’t take either as serious as we should. Although greatly troubled by our anxious feelings we tend to dismiss them as a mere weakness rather than confess them as sin. And although we might speak of prayer as the greatest force on earth we often act as though it is useless. Then we wonder why nothing changes for the better. We would fare better if we had the attitude expressed in this prayer by Jay Adams, in my opinion one of the wisest Christian counselors of our time:
My worry is sin
__I cannot excuse it;
__I confess it and seek Your pardon, Lord.
__You have told me not to worry
__but (rather) to pray,
__to thank You (even for this trial),
__to work on today’s responsibilities
__and to rely on You
__for the outcome.
That’s hard under the present circumstance,
__You will have to help me
__to learn how
__to do these things,
So that
__by practicing
__what You have taught
__through Word and deed
I too may be able
__to count it a joyful thing
__when I fall
__into every sort of testing.
May I learn to see the sun
__shining above the storm,
__and by the eye of faith
__discern those shafts of light
__that break through the clouds
__to beam
__knowledge, self-control, endurance,
__godliness, brotherly-kindness
__and love
__into my dark life,
_________________for Christ’s sake,
_____________________Amen
