January 10, 2005
Panic Prayers
Read: Psalm 37:1-8
Commit your way to the Lord, trust also in Him, and He shall bring it to pass. —Psalm 37:5
Bible In One Year: Genesis 30-32
In her book Beyond Our Selves, Catherine Marshall wrote about learning to surrender her entire life to God through a "prayer of relinquishment." When she encountered situations she feared, she often panicked and exhibited a demanding spirit in prayer: "God, I must have thus and so." God seemed remote. But when she surrendered the dreaded situation to Him to do with it exactly as He pleased, fear left and peace returned. From that moment on, God began working things out.
In Psalm 37, David talked about both commitment and surrender: "Commit your way to the Lord," he said, "trust also in Him" (v.5). Committed believers are those who sincerely follow and serve the Lord, and it's appropriate to urge people to have greater commitment. But committing ourselves to God and trusting Him imply surrendering every area of our lives to His wise control, especially when fear and panic overtake us. The promised result of such wholehearted commitment and trust is that God will do what is best for us.
Instead of trying to quell your fears with panic prayers, surrender yourself to God through a prayer of relinquishment, and see what He will do. —Joanie Yoder
Fill my poor heart with Thy great love divine.
Take all my will, my passion, self, and pride;
I now surrender, Lord—in me abide. —Orr
Prayer is the bridge between panic and peace.
