Do you get frustrated when you’re struggling with something and someone says, “Give it to God,” or “Hand it over to God.?” What does that look like? Me being the visual person I am, being an artist and all, I need to know what that looks like or at least looks like for me. So, I imagine putting all my worries in a box, (probably an Amazon box), wrapping it in brown paper, labeling it “To: God – Worries” decorated with red hearts and tying string around it, then attaching it to an arrow and shooting up to heaven as another package comes down looking the same but labeled, “To Caryn – Peace, with Love, Your Heavenly Father.”
But I think there’s more to that. The visual helps me, but there’s a part B. Sometimes I find myself, usually unaware of myself grabbing and taking it all back from God where the worry and stress start all over again. Then there’s more prayer and I’m really earnest this time and then I decide I’m gonna pray everyday at the same time for this situation or person. That’ll do it!!! And then nothing so I ask others to pray. Not that we shouldn’t but sometimes I think the more prayer lists my prayers are on God is surely gonna hear it and answer it. And we should be persistent. Pray without ceasing, 1 Thessalonians 5:17. But maybe we need to come up for air and take a breath. God hears us, He knows what we need before we ask, Matthew 6:8. Be persistent in prayer, Romans 12:12 and Luke 18:1-8 (this is a parable to show persistence), it’s a general, overall command. It doesn’t say be persistent in giving God your specific worries. (I could be wrong here, so let me know what you think).
So most of my answered prayers have been when I just casually told God what was on my heart and gave Him my request and got so busy with other things, like life and serving and reaching out to others, just carrying on, that’s when I realize my prayer has been answered. Now I’m not saying this is how it is or how it is for everyone, this has just been my observation in my prayer life. But I do think it’s important to surrender our requests our worries to God and I also think that it’s important that we don’t obsess over our requests where they become an idol, “have no other idols before me”, Exodus 20:3.
I look at it this way; it’s tax season, most of us give all our tax info to an accountant, right? An expert, someone who knows what they are doing and are efficient at it, a pro. Most people just drop it off, they trust their accountant, their accountant knows them. So after dropping it off, they may go get coffee, run an errand or two, pick up the kids, go to soccer practice, go home, go bed and then a few days later the accountant calls and your taxes are done right and complete, perfect. Now you may or may not like the outcome. But you surrendered your information, you went about your business and then it was done. Kinda the same with our prayers. We hand them over to God we go about our business and then after a while, in His timing and sovereignty we get an answer. We can still be persistent, we can still ask others to pray, we just can’t make it an idol.
I don’t know what “giving it to God” looks like for you, it might look different. If so leave a comment what that may look like for you. It helped me to think of giving God my worries this way, I hope it helped you.
If this blog has helped you, please like and share and stay tuned at Caryn’s Corner on YouTube, I am working on a new video and can’t wait to share it.
The Kedge Anchor 
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