Prayer for Anxiety
You have not given me a spirit of fear,
But of power,
And love
And a sound mind.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
The name that went steadfastly to the cross,
That sweat blood in the garden to gain
Power over all powers,
Principality over all principalities-
I send you, spirit of fear and anxiety, behind me
Away to whence you came.
This trembling is not from God.
It is not based in reality,
But in lies that are but temptation to doubt,
Doubt that is but temptation to fear,
Fear that is not from you, but from one who is all deceit
And who seeks to deceive me.
I ask your clarity.
Your calm.
Your peace.
Your rest.
To fill my heart and mind and spirit.
Grant me faith to focus on you,
Grant me calm in every fibre of my flesh,
Grant me your peace that passeth all human understanding.
Give me rest so entirely in yourself
That there is no room for the anxiety that wishes to encircle and invade me
Send yourself through every neural pathway.
Fill my veins with the stillness of your love.
Quiet my heart and the foolish thoughts that draw my gaze into myself,
My self-estimation,
My pride,
And my fears.
You have not given the spirit of fear.
You do not ask, nor suggest, but
Command and empower me to be
Strong and of good courage.
I will not be afraid, or dismayed, by what man can do to me, or think of me.
In the name of Jesus I ask you, Father, to take over this vessel.
I confess the sin of mistrust,
I ask your Spirit to fill up, to cleanse, to cast out
The taint of my unbelief.
Do battle for me.
In this struggle that is not just flesh and blood.
Do battle for me.
In this struggle that is not just flesh and blood.
I ask this in weak confidence
Knowing that in my weakness,
You will show yourself strong.
As you have before and before,
As you will again and again.
In the name of Jesus Christ,
Amen.
(Your will is for me, not against me,
And so I place my anxiety into your hands.)
This is an attempt to transcribe a general idea of the prayer that I usually repeat, in various orders, when I am struggling with a bout of anxiety. It's been born of more than 10 years of on and off struggles, particularly because I've been having a bad time of it lately, and is all rooted in either scripture itself or principles of scripture. The parts in italics are parts I tend to repeat several times, almost as a mantra if I can use that term. I firmly believe in the power of addressing besetting sins by name, because they are the work of Satan after all. In naming them, you can center your rejection of them as you claim the promise and power of God. I suggest saying it aloud, or at least under your breath- I find I mean it more that way. I hope this might be of some use or edification for others who struggle with the spirit of fear- feel free to print it or save it somehow if you think it can be helpful for you xx
