3 Practical Ways to Pray When You’re Feeling Anxious

My head is pounding, my heart’s racing, and it feels like I can’t catch my breath.

If you’ve ever been there, welcome.

Let’s clear something up right away: feeling anxious doesn’t mean you don’t have faith. It just reminds us how much we need God in the middle of the chaos. Faith isn’t the absence of fear: it’s what we choose to cling to through it.

You guys remember the song from Katy Perry, “Firework?” One of the lyrics says

“Do you ever feel, feel so paper thin, like a house of cards, one blow from caving in?”

First of all, pure poetry. My awkward tween self thanks you, 2010 Katy Perry. Second, that lyric captures it perfectly: life piles up. Work stress, family stuff, health struggles, that thing you haven’t told anyone about yet… it’s a lot.

There’s no magic fix to make it all disappear. (Don’t get me wrong, our God still does miracles!) But trusting in Him is a process- it’s something you learn.

So if you’re like me, learning to trust God a little more every day, (worried about all those things you don’t have an answer for), here are a few things “I’ve learned in the learning.” I know that’s not a thing people say, but we’re going with it.

1. Start With Thanks

Science even backs this up: gratitude and anxiety can’t exist in your brain at the same time. Now, if you’re already rolling your eyes, I get it. Gratitude doesn’t erase real fear. But it does shift our focus…

It’s okay to feel anxious, to doubt, to worry- that’s completely normal. This is just a practical way to counteract those real feelings. In Luke 10, Martha was overwhelmed with all she had to do. Elijah cried out alone in the wilderness. Moses tried to pass his calling to his brother. You’re not the first person in Scripture to feel anxious, and you won’t be the last.

Psalms 100:4-5 tells us,

“Enter his gates with thanksgiving;
go into his courts with praise.
Give thanks to him and praise his name.
For the Lord is good.
His unfailing love continues forever,
and his faithfulness continues to each generation.”

2. Don’t Hold Back

One of the most powerful lessons I’ve learned in my prayer life– is that God is not afraid of anything. He’s not afraid of your fears, your worries, your dreams, your thoughts- even intrusive ones.

Bring it all to Him and don’t hold back. When was the last time you could say that you had an honest conversation with God, with no filter? Sometimes, this looks like just tears and questions. Sometimes this looks like telling him every single detail of how you feel.

Find a place where you can be uninterrupted by the world around you for your talks with God. If you have a busy schedule like me, this can look like driving home from work, or even in the shower, or right before you go to bed. (or maybe all of those places.)

3. Find a Specific Promise

The other half of this practical way to pray is “Find a specific promise… and put it where you can SEE it.” God’s word is everlasting, and His promises can give us strength when we have none.

When I was a kid, my little sister had trouble falling asleep because she was afraid of monsters. And so the next morning, my mom got out some construction paper and had her write out:

“God didn’t give me a spirit of fear, but of power, love, and a sound mind.” 2 Timothy 1:7

Then she taped it to the wall right beside my sister’s bed. Every time my sister felt scared, she told her to read that verse, even to say it out loud.

Which to us as kids sounded ridiculous, but my sister slept soundly for the weeks after. And we never forgot that verse.

Feeling worried? Read Matthew 8.
Feeling behind? Read Ecclesiastes 3.
Feeling powerless? Read Romans 8.

God’s word is full of His promises that speak straight to the stuff we’re carrying. Find one that matches your specific anxious feeling, write it down, put it where you can see it, and pray. A sticky note on your work desk, a paper taped to your bathroom mirror, a note attached to the dashboard in your car. Somewhere that you will see it every day.

An unsteady mind longs for a steady truth.

You’re not crazy. You’re not weak. You are not alone, my friend. God sees you and He loves you. I pray that even as you’re reading this now, He’s going to show up in a new way for you this week.

Alaina Goode

Hey, I'm Alaina!

Or some would call me Laney. I'm from small town friendly Forest City, NC. I love spending time with my family, worship, film, theater, and basically all things music.

God is writing our stories so that every life has a testimony. I want to spend my life creating platforms with others to share these stories and glorify the kingdom of God!