Anxious for Nothing Week 3 — Present Your Requests to God

[He] cried out, “Lord, save me!” — Matthew 14:30

Specific prayer provides an opportunity to see God at work. ~ Max

Welcome to week three of the Anxious for Nothing Online Bible Study with Max Lucado!

Have you ever worry-prayed? I catch myself doing this all the time. I find myself complaining to Jesus about my problems and not truly asking for Him to intervene. Have you ever done that? It sounds something like this:

• So-and-so continues to gossip about me to the neighbors and what she’s saying isn’t true and I’m hurt and feel like I have to defend myself or just deal with being maligned.
• That difficult co-worker took credit for the work I did again, God, and I’m so frustrated that I can’t get ahead.
• The car broke down again! The washing machine finally died. And, now my savings are shot. I can’t afford another problem financially.
• This situation is repeatedly unfair. I keep getting the fuzzy end of the lollipop!
• God, this marriage is filled with conflict and I feel so hopeless and scared.

It’s easy to get into a habit of complaining to God and talking to Him about our needs and forgetting to ask specifically for what we need, isn’t it? But, we can flip those problems around and view them from another perspective knowing that the Lord is the Lord and worries are not!

• Holy Spirit, You promise in Your Word to defend me if I just stay still. (Exodus 14:14)
• Father, I will continue to do my very best for You. Will You please allow my boss to see how hard I work? I ask for Your supernatural favor and trust that You will elevate me at the right time. (Psalm 5:12)
• Jesus, You taught us to pray “Give us today our daily bread”. Will You please provide for my needs today? I trust You. (Matthew 6:11)
• Father, You are the ultimate Judge and I am Your child. As my Dad, will you please cause this situation to go in my favor? (Psalm 75:5)
• Jesus, I put my hope in You and You alone. Please, help me to behave in a way that is befitting a believer no matter what my circumstances and to cast all my anxiety on You.

Cast all your anxiety on Him because He cares for you. — 1 Peter 5:7

Read that again. Cast all your cares. Throw them with all of your might. Hurl your stress to God. And if they crawl back towards you, fling them again. Sometimes, when anxiety gets fierce we need to get a little violent about it. Cast it and ask Jesus for help!

As we sense the anxiety welling up inside we simply cast it in His direction and say, “You said You would help me. Would you?” ~ Max

Instead of telling God about our problems, we can tell our problems about Jesus. And, then be thankful that the Father who loves us is already at work behind the scenes to fix what is broken, unjust, problematic, injured, and painful.

Contingent contentment turns us into wounded, worried people. ~ Max

Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication, with thanksgiving, let your requests be made knows to God. — Philippians 4:6

With thanksgiving.

Instead of worry-praying, we can tell God our needs, trust Him for the outcome, and then end it was thanks. Anxiety will dissipate in the company of praise.

Worry refuses to share the heart with gratitude. One heartfelt “thank you” will suck the oxygen out of worry’s world, so say it often! ~ Max

If it came in a pill form gratitude would be deemed the miracle cure! It’s no wonder then that God’s anxiety therapy includes a large, delightful dollop of gratitude. ~ Max

So, let’s get our praise on!

This week in your study:

1. Watch the video for session three on our study home page or live with other participants … Take notes in your study guide on pages 55-61.
2. Go through the study questions and activity with your group or on your own on pages 62-65.
3. Review Chapters 6-7 in Anxious for Nothing.
4. Enjoy your personal study this week on pages 66-74.
5. Watch parties on Mondays at 8pm CST.
6. Join the conversations about the study and get to know fellow participants in the private Facebook group!

Scriptures this Week

Philippians 4:6
Matthew 14:28
Matthew 14:30
1 Peter 5:7
Philippians 4:11-13
Philippians 1:21

Prayer for the Week

Jesus, we love You. We trust You. We thank You that You know every single circumstance in our lives. You are actively involved in helping us every step of the way because we are Your children and You love us. Help us to hurl our worries onto You and get a little violent if they creep back at us. We want to shake off the stress and be filled with praise instead. We love You, Lord. Amen.