When I Am Afraid

Sometimes I feel afraid. I feel overwhelmed by the things I have no control over. I see the effects of a broken world on the lives of the people I love. I know the Bible says not to be anxious but to pray,so, I choose to pray. If I pray with my mind wrapped around the thing I fear it anchors me to that fear, I choose instead to fill my mind with the pictures I find painted by the prophets as my starting point.

I think one of my favorite ways to picture the God is in Daniel. "As I looked, thrones were placed, and the Ancient of days took his seat; his clothing was white as snow, and the hair of his head like pure wool; his throne was fiery flames; its wheels were burning fire."(Daniel 6:9) I live my life confined by time but the one to whom I pray is not confined to time instead He is the Ancient of days. He knows the end from the beginning.

When I pray I like to think about what Ezekiel saw when he saw the Lord. "Like the appearance of a rainbow in the clouds on a rainy day, so was the radiance around him. This was the appearance of the likeness of the glory of the LORD."(Ezekiel 1:28) On rainy days the beauty of a rainbow gives me hope.

If this was the only way I pictured God I would never have the courage to pray. But I also read, "And because you are sons, God has sent the Spirit of his Son into our hearts,crying, "Abba! Father!"(Galatians 4:6) Sometimes my prayer is very short and its goes something like this, "Help!"Whether my prayer is long or short I direct it to my father who is in Heaven.

Father, I don't really understand prayer but I see again and again this invitation in Your word to come before You and to bring with me the things that cause me anxiety. So I come. When I am afraid I will come and I will lift my eyes, I will lift my voice, I will lift my heart to the Ancient of days whose radiance is like a rainbow on a rainy day and who has invited me to call Him Abba.