When You're Carrying Quiet Anxiety - Your Nightly Prayer - June 25th

Chelsey DeMatteis

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Your Nightly Prayer

When You’re Carrying Quiet Anxiety
Your Nightly Prayer
by Chelsey DeMatteis

TONIGHT'S SCRIPTURE

“When anxiety was great within me, your consolation brought me joy.” Psalm 94:19

SOMETHING TO PONDER

“You really are superwoman”. A new friend of mine said this when we were first getting to know one another, and honestly, lots of people say it to me. While they all mean well and perhaps believe the words they are saying, what they don’t see is a crushed, quietly anxious heart. It’s hard to write this, not because of pride, but because I keep this most often to myself and Jesus. It’s a part of my life that I’m afraid most won’t understand, and in many ways, I don’t want them, either. Not because I don’t want them to have real empathy for me, but I’d hate to know that they have to carry such a weight.

A weight that is so hard to explain. Because much of the time, the anxiety we face is about something that hasn’t happened and probably will not happen. Now, this is not the case for some. Some people have faced tragic situations that have left them plagued with anxiety. But that is not mine. Mine didn’t stem from tragedy or hardship. It didn’t come from brokenness. It started when I was a little girl and would find myself fearful, making my way to my mom’s side of the bed, asking her to comfort me, and she always did.

As I grew older, this seemed to shift and change in the way anxiety showed up. The root was always worry and fear. These are the enemy’s favorite tactics to get a stronghold in one’s life. There is always something a person can worry about. And fear, that’s where he really likes to pin people down—especially a child of God. Scare them enough so they lose their voice and eventually their witness. Because if he can scare one silent, the testimony of their life cannot go out into the world.

When I think of Scripture to address anxiety, I think of David’s writing in the Psalms. Clearly, he was conflicted. You see highs and lows. You hear a desperation in his voice that I don’t hear anywhere else. He knew he was God’s child, but the enemy’s affliction was heavy all around him. It came in waves. And much like when we see Satan attack Jesus in John 4, we see in David’s life that the enemy sought “opportune” times to come blazing with his fiery darts.

But God always prevailed. Always.

He met David with His peace and His presence. He sent armies of angels and hid David beneath His wings. When David cried out in trouble, God answered him. He rescued him, and he honored him. God showed him His salvation. (Psalm 91) This is the same for you and me. I’m writing because I will not allow Satan to silence my voice and suppress the testimony God has given me. And even though this is a thorn in my side, I pray He will lift it from me, I will still trust in what God says. He is with me, he is for me - He is with and for you. He does not want you to be anxious and afraid. He does not want irrational thoughts or old wounds to pin you down and plague you with fear. That is not of God. It is not His character. And He only wants freedom for you, and he wants it so much so that He sent His Son to purchase it for you and me on the cross.

In the storm, He made a way for peace ( Psalm 122:8-9).
In the attacks, he made a way for joy (Psalm 94:19).
In the trials, tribulations, and temptations, He will give you His way of escape ( 1 Cor 10:13)

Grab hold of your Savior and the sword of the Spirit. When the attacks come, when the anxiety strikes, and your cheeks go flush, and your hands get wet, choose to look to Jesus. Grab the hem of your shirt and say, “In the name of Jesus, I’m grabbing the hem of your robe, carry me through this valley. Defeat the darkness and breathe your peace over me.”

To my brothers and sisters in Christ, David invited his Heavenly Father into his fear, doubt, worry, pain, and affliction. So many others in the Bible and in the churches around us have too. Which means we should, too. It may be difficult to let people into this deep place of your heart, especially when what you feel is hard to explain or something a person cannot understand. Maybe you don’t have someone in your life you feel safe enough to talk with. Pray for the Lord to make a connection with a strong believer. And above all, let your Heavenly Father into the deep well of your spirit. He already knows what you’re walking through. He sees the anxiety, worry, fear, thoughts, and tension, but He desires you to invite Him in. Allow His peace to cover you and carry you through the storms; He will bring joy to your spirit again.

YOUR NIGHTLY PRAYER

Father,
Anxiety is a thorn. A thorn, I pray you take from me. In the moments when it feels all too heavy, remind me to grab the hem of my shirt as if it’s the hem of your Son, Jesus’ robe. Let it serve as a reminder that You are with me, that Your Holy Spirit is interceding for me, and that You have sent Your angel armies to battle in the spiritual realm for me. The darkness cannot survive in the light. As your light comes in and settles in my heart, the darkness must and will flee. I pray Father, if the anxiety in my life is from a stronghold I am not aware of, please reveal it to me. I want to break these chains for future generations in my family. I want my children and their children to see and experience a family free of anxiety caused by strongholds. You say in your Word, “that whom the Son sets free, he is free indeed.” I pray to live in that freedom, and that it will be the freedom that carries my family and me forward. God, you are faithful. You are bigger than all forms of anxiety. And I will rest in your faithfulness as you lead me one step at a time towards a bright and free future!
In Jesus’ name,
Amen.

THREE THINGS TO MEDITATE UPON

Pray for the Lord to reveal any strongholds in your life.
Ask one person to pray for you to experience freedom from anxiety.
Begin each day by praying Psalm 91 over your life.

Reflect on tonight’s prayer and share how God met you there. Join the Your Nightly Prayer discussion on the Crosswalk Forum.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/fizkes

Chelsey is the voice behind the Living with Less Podcast and author of the 52-week devotional More of Him, Less of Me: Living a Christ-centered Life in a Me-centered World. She writes devotions for Lifeway Women's Journey Magazine, Crosswalk.com, and iBelieve.com. She also writes Bible reading plans for the YouVersion Bible App. Chelsey lives in Ohio with her husband and two children. You can connect with her on Instagram @chelseydematteis and at her website ChelseyDeMatteis.com.

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