How to Combat Anxiety with Prayer

If you find yourself struggling with anxiety and wondering if this is just part of life, I’ve been there, and friend, it doesn’t have to be.

Anxiety is something I have struggled with for years. Feeling overwhelmed, afraid, or worried and becoming sick with anxiety about all the possible outcomes of a situation I have very little control over. I’ve had anxiety over the future, decisions I have to make, relationships, difficult conversations, work, pregnancy, finances, family, friends, travel, and the list goes on. 

Anxiety in its simplest definition is the absence of peace. Maybe for you, it comes as a knot in your stomach, shaking hands, a pounding heart, nausea, or tension, but looking down on it from 30,000 feet, the utter lack of peace is so evident. 

You can have anxiety or you can have peace, but you cannot have both simultaneously. 

For me, this is the biggest battle I face between my flesh and my spirit. 

I used to think when the Bible referred to this battle between flesh and spirit, it was talking about worldly temptations like sex, wealth, success, or fame. While those are very tangible temptations, anxiety is another beast the world pulls at hearts and minds with. 

No one wants to be anxious, but we also do not sufficiently guard ourselves against it. We don’t even really think about it until we’re facing it head-on in our own lives. Anxiety is something that we have to actively fight against, otherwise, it will overcome us and we won’t even realize what has happened until we’re deep in the pit of it, struggling to get out.

I love the passage in Philippians 4 addressing anxiety. In verses 6-7, Paul instructs the Philippians, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

When I read this verse at first glance, it seems simple. Don’t be anxious, pray, and you’ll have peace. But when we dig into the deeper meaning of it, it reveals so much more to us. There are five things that stand out from this passage: prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, request, and peace.

1. Prayer

Prayer should be our first response when we face difficulties, not our last resort. You’ve probably heard this before, and it’s so much simpler to say than to actually do.

We often look to friends or wise counsel to talk things through, or we turn to distractions just to keep our minds off of the situation for a little while. I get it. I do this. When anxiety rises up, I turn on Hulu or put in my headphones and try to get myself to focus on something else so I don’t feel so absolutely awful. But what if instead, we turned to God first?

The problem with distracting ourselves is that we will eventually have to deal with the problem. The next time that thing comes up, we’ll be forced to either continue the cycle of distraction or face the situation head-on. But, if we’ve trained ourselves to turn to God first, we don’t give anxiety a chance at taking a foothold. It is easier to stop anxiety at the first thought than it is at the eleventh. 

An anxious mind does not make wise decisions. It is a clear mind, guarded by peace, that can see the situation in faith rather than in fear, and respond appropriately. So, if prayer is the first step, let’s start there. 

2. Supplication

I love the word supplication in this verse. Maybe you’re like me and thought supplication simply meant asking for your basic needs; food, shelter, health, and safety. Just enough. The Oxford English dictionary actually defines supplication as, “the action of asking or begging for something earnestly or humbly.”

It is raw and messy and real. It isn’t the cleaned-up, polished, well-thought-out prayer. It’s the honest cry from a place of desperation for our Father to come rescue us. It’s the “God, I don’t even know how I got here or how to get out of this mess, but I desperately need You,” prayer. It’s genuine. It’s humble. It’s simple, yet so hard to get out of the way, trust God, and let Him step in to clean it up. 

So many times, I’ve hit the point of exhausted, desperate need. But then I’d muster up what little strength I have, pull myself up, make a plan, and let God know that this is how I’ll fix it. I wasn’t asking for His solution, just coming up with my own and asking Him to help make it work. But that isn’t at all what supplication is. When I think I can or should solve things on my own, I’m letting my pride take over instead of surrendering the situation to God and trusting Him.

God doesn’t need us to give our best effort in getting up before He helps us. He wants us to rely on Him. Proverbs 18:10 says, “The name of the Lord is a fortified tower; the righteous run to it and are safe.”

There is power, strength, and safety in His name. Run to Him. 

3. Thanksgiving

Honestly, when I first read the word thanksgiving in this verse, it seemed a bit annoying. When I’m in a hard situation and crying out to God for help, gratitude doesn’t really feel like it has a place in that moment. Should I thank God that I’m sobbing in my closet?

The more I thought about it, though, I realized that when I’m overcome with anxiety, the thanksgiving at that moment is actually for me. Paul clearly understood that as he sat in a prison cell writing these words to the Philippian church. 

“I thank my God in all my remembrance of you, always in every prayer of mine for you all making my prayer with joy, because of your partnership in the gospel from the first day until now.” Philippians 1:3-5

Paul could’ve focused on his circumstances, anxious to get out of prison and be with the church. Instead, he thanks God and remembers the good, joyful things He is doing despite the situation Paul is in.

Gratitude in the midst of anxiety is for our benefit. When we express gratitude, we turn our focus onto what we have rather than what we lack, and we remember what God has done in the past.

All throughout Deuteronomy, the Israelites were told to remember. Remember that they were slaves in Egypt and that God brought them out. Remember the way God led them through the wilderness. Remember the Lord. 

When we remember the things God has done, it restores our confidence in who He is and what He can do. Our thanksgiving takes our mind off of the problem and fixes it onto the promise of who God is, and He is really good.

4. Request

The last part of verse 6 says, “let your requests be made known to God.” When we make a request, we show confidence and trust in God. God wants to hear our requests. He invites us to ask Him, and when we do, it is a declaration of faith that He is able and an expression of trust that He will do what is good whether that aligns with our request or not. 

In 1 Kings 3:5, Solomon is the new king of Israel after David. While he is in Gibeon offering sacrifices and burning incense at the high place, which was where idol worship took place, the Lord appears and says, “Ask for whatever you want me to give you.” 

God saw Solomon worshipping idols and intervenes graciously, telling Solomon to ask Him for whatever it is he was looking to the idols for. Solomon asks for a discerning heart to lead the people well as the king, and I love what happens next. God responds in verse 12, “I will do what you have asked. I will give you a wise and discerning heart so that there will never have been anyone like you, nor will there ever be. Moreover, I will give you what you have not asked for—both wealth and honor—so that in your lifetime you will have no equal among kings. And if you walk in obedience to me and keep my decrees and commands as David your father did, I will give you a long life.”

God is not only gracious with Solomon, pulling him from where he was and redirecting his focus on Him, but He is also generous in giving even more than what Solomon asks for. 

I don’t know about you, but sometimes I worry that if I make a big request and God says no, then I’ll look foolish. But honestly, I’d rather look foolish for praying too many big, bold, audacious prayers than miss out because all I ever asked for was a good night of sleep.

In another instance, Jesus says to a blind man in Mark 10:51, “What do you want me to do for you?” Of course, Jesus knew the blind man wanted sight. It seems like the bigger question was, “Do you have big enough faith to ask me for something that seems impossible?” 

Does God know what we need? Absolutely, but it is an act of faith and belief when we ask for big things because we won’t ask for what we don’t believe is possible. 

You wouldn’t go to your boss and ask for a massive raise because that would seem ridiculous. This same mentality is sometimes why we don’t ask for what we need from God. To ask God to solve an unbelievably huge problem in our life would mean we’d have to have big enough faith to believe it’s even possible, and enough trust to believe that whatever the outcome, it’s for our good. 

If our view of God is too small to believe He can do the big things we think we need, or we’re too afraid that he’ll answer with “No,” then we’ll never ask for anything big. But when we have enough faith to believe it’s possible and enough trust to accept whatever answer God gives us, we can boldly make our requests.

5. Peace

Verse 7 says, “And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

You’ve prayed an earnest, humble, desperate prayer. You’ve remembered what God has done in the past and believe in His power. You’ve asked for the impossible. This is where you fight for peace.

You might’ve read that and thought, “I have to fight for peace now? I thought I was done fighting.” Maybe someday you will be, but so far in my life, I’ve had to fight for it. 

Here’s what I mean:

You go back to work and another big project is thrown on your desk with an impossible deadline and you have no idea how you’ll do it; the anxiety is back.

You get into another confrontation with that family member over something that matters so much to you and they just don’t seem to care; the anxiety is back.

You go in for the next doctor’s appointment and it takes more than a moment for the doctor to find your baby’s heartbeat while yours escalates; the anxiety is back.

You find out your company is going to do another round of layoffs after you just got your finances under control; the anxiety is back.

In those moments, if by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving, you let your requests be made known to God, then you will have peace. These actions – prayer, supplication, thanksgiving, and asking– put Jesus, the Prince of Peace, front and center, and it is His peace that surpasses understanding and guards our hearts and minds. But, as soon as the problem or situation reclaims that central position, the peace is gone and the anxiety is back. 

I’ll say it again– you cannot have both anxiety and peace simultaneously. When these moments arise, you have to make a conscious choice to fight for your peace. To keep God as your focus and remember that He is sovereign, trustworthy, and really good. Is it hard? Absolutely, but so is the anxiety. So choose your hard and fight for peace.

Here are some practical ways that you can fight for peace when you feel anxiety rise up:

1. Recite the truth. It can be hard to pray when your mind is swirling with anxious thoughts, so tuck a few verses of scripture away for those moments. Psalm 23 is a great passage to pray over yourself when you’re feeling anxious.
2. Remember the triumphs. List all the things you’re grateful for and remind yourself of who God is and what He’s done for you. 
3. Replace the thoughts. Approach the situation with faith that a positive outcome is possible rather than fear that the negative outcome is more probable.
4. Remove the trigger. Temporarily distance from the problem to prepare yourself before facing it.

Looking for more? Check out the latest blog posts below!

• How to Read the Bible and Actually Understand It
• How to Practice Self-Care as a Christian | Part Five: Gratitude
• How to Practice Self-Care as a Christian | Part Four: Community Support
• How to Practice Self-Care as a Christian | Part Three: Service
• How to Practice Self-Care as a Christian | Part Two: Scripture