Apprehension and Prayer, a Life of Faith

Apprehension is a mental, emotional and spiritual wrecking ball. It paralyzes our lives in a way that no other stress does. It creates in our minds a fear of the future. We begin to imagine all sorts of stressful scenarios, many of which never even occur. Apprehension causes us to question ourselves, and our ability to cope with life in the present. It eats away at the precious time we have in this world, corroding our mental, emotional and spiritual faculties. If left untreated, the anxiety simply takes over and dominates our lives fully.

How do we learn to place that apprehension in its proper perspective? Life will always be filled with some anxiety. But for those of us who suffer from anxiety disorder the apprehension is absolutely demoralizing to the soul. We see no way out or forward that is beneficial to the self or healthy to the mind. Our coping skills deteriorate to almost nothing as the fear gradually eats away at our psyche. If left unchecked this disorder leads to all kinds of unhealthy behavior such as alcoholism, obsessive-compulsive disorder, and other substance abuse. Human nature will seek out comfort and relief wherever and however it can find it.

There is a way forward! Jesus asks us to cast all of our burdens on him. This takes practice and determination through prayer. Daily prayer works. By offering our fears and worries up to God we take the first step in relief from overwhelming anxiety. As humans, all too often we desire to be in complete control of our environment. If we freely give our worries and fears to God and let God manage our lives we are suddenly free of the deadly bondage of apprehension. However, this takes work. Prayer does not come easy for many of us. Often we only pray when we are experiencing a hurtful, uncomfortable and frightening situation. Prayer takes practice and is an ongoing conversation with God. It is through consistent daily prayer that we are able to turn our lives and wills over to the care of God, and trust that he will care for us no matter what we face, or the outcome. God is in charge of our lives, not us. God will do for us what we cannot do for ourselves, but we must be willing to do the legwork.

Prayer requires faith. Faith comes from believing in a power (God) greater than ourselves. Faith requires that we step out into the unknown and fearful aspects of the world, and believe that God is with us. Faith is believing that God hears and answers our prayers. Faith is like letting go of the steering wheel and letting God drive. When we do this we find that so many of our apprehensions are formless shadows that we give life by breathing into them.