Devotional: Do You Leave it With Him?
There are an abundance of things these days that are just causes of anxiety in our lives. Whether it be global pandemic, or the injustice we see all around us in our country, or even the various areas that make up our daily lives, it is quite understandable to look at these things and become anxious. The presence of these things in our lives make the words of Paul in his letter to the church in Philippi even sweeter. In Paul’s words, there is a promise from our Heavenly Father himself that he will shield us from the cares of this world with his “peace which surpasses all understanding.” This is not a denial of the force of the things that normally drive us to anxiety. Rather, our God shows us that his peace is powerful enough to calm even those anxieties which are most forceful in our lives. God offers this powerful peace in Christ Jesus, and it is our job to lay hold of it through leaving them at God’s feet in prayer.
Questions for Meditation
- What does it mean to leave your requests with God?
- Which types of burdens are the hardest for you to hand over to God?
- The first thing we must do in prayer is to ask and thank. Why is thankfulness so important in order for prayer to grant peace?
- Why is it so important to believe in the goodness of God in prayer?
- The second things we must do is present and leave our requests before God in prayer. Why is it important to “leave” as well as to “present” your requests before God?
- Pastor Toledo gave multiple Biblical examples of God showing that he is available to his people. Do you believe that God is available to you in prayer? What are things that help you to believe this, and things that don’t?
- Just like the priests of the Old Testament bore all the tribes of Israel on the chest of their garment to bring the people before God, we are called to do the same with our burdens. What burdens are on your “chest” today? What would it look like for God to take these burdens off your chest?