Prayer Meditation

Cast the Worries of Your Heart to God
Prayer Meditation

Preparation for Prayer
Close your eyes. Take in a deep breath and hold it. Now release it slowly and completely. Take in another deep breath and hold it. Now release it slowly and completely. Allow the tension in your neck to ease, the tension in your face to ease, the tension in your arms to ease, and the tension in your legs to ease. Take in another deep breath and hold it. Now release it slowly and completely.

Clear your minds. Open your eyes. We rarely get the time we need with God and when we do get it, we are usually rushed. We all have great burdens in our lives, things that weight heavy on our hearts, worries that loom like a cloud. Tonight is about casting the worries of your heart to God.

Individual time of Reflection and Prayer
It seems natural to worry these days. Even those among us who are always ‘looking on the bright side’ worry about relationships with friends and family, doing well in sports, school, and other activities, the pressure to get into a good college or find a good job, the economic difficulties in the world, doing what’s right in a world that seems to be confused about morals. Then there are the worries about our bodies, fitting in, our futures, and our souls. Worry seems so natural and can really weigh us down.

The word worry actually means to strangle or to wring. Worry does that to us. We feel like we’re a wet dishcloth being wrung out. Our heart gets crimped, our soul feels tight, our body feels twisted, and our mind feels distorted. Then a moment comes when we crawl to the only place where hope can be found. In the place of stillness where God is. There in that holy space, worry is eased and we are bathed in the peace of heaven. It doesn’t take heroic effort. It takes only the willingness to stop for a moment, breathe deeply, and ask to be brought into the heart of God. In the sliver of a second, we can find ourselves held in the holy embrace and worry will melt away.

Now take a moment to reflect and write on this question:

How is worry crimping my soul and how is God calling me into stillness?

Now take a moment and name the things that burden your heart and soul. What is it that you worry about? How is it affecting your heart and soul?

Read Psalm 46
1) What comfort do you find in the reading of this Psalm?
2) What specific moments in the Psalm speak most to you?

Read Philippians 4: 4-7
1) What comfort do you find in this reading from Philippians?
2) What specific moments in the passage speak most to you?

Read Matthew 6: 25-34 and Matthew 7: 7-11
1) What comfort do you find in these readings from Matthew?
2) What specific moments in the passage speak most to you?

Now take some time to be in prayer in the silence and stillness of this moment. Specifically offer the cares and concerns of your heart up to God. Remember those who are in pain, those who are afraid, those who are alone, those whom you love, those who are dying, and those who are already in heaven, and pray for the needs of your own life.

Bringing it all together
Our worries, the burdens that are on our soul, our concerns, can be a lot like a back pack full of bricks. They make life harder to navigate, it’s hard to focus because of the distraction of the strain that is on us, and we find ourselves simply tired.

Now when you surround yourself with people who truly support you, you can find those burdens easier to carry and easier to endure. However they are still there.

When we come to God with our burdens and concerns, we are given a chance through faith and trust to unload the heavy burdens and find the peace of Christ that passes all understanding. We must learn to bring our worries to God and to trust that he will take care of us in his way and in his timing.

May the blessing of the God who holds you in the palm of heaven’s hand, wash over you with the greatest grace until your soul is calm and still in the Divine Presence. Amen.