In a little white house with a red door and blue shutters a little girl snuggles in her bed and, by the light of a pink lamp, finds patterns in the popcorn ceiling above her bunk. Anxieties about school, tornadoes, friends, and the possibility that Cruella de Vil could be real bounces around her head until her eyes grow heavy. And she worries herself to sleep.
20 years later, in another white house on the other side of town, a woman tosses anxiously in her bed. Anxieties about pandemics, politics, futures, past mistakes and the unknown bounce around her head – a pinball game of worry. Just as the ocean of fear swells to an overwhelming level, she remembers to pray.
“Jesus, I trust in you.”
And her eyes grow heavy. And she prays herself to sleep.
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I’ve been prone to worry for as long as I can remember. Every season of life has been seasoned with a sprinkle of anxiety and although I have many secular tools in place to mitigate my anxiety, and am ever so grateful for those tools, prayer will forever be my favorite go-to for when worry likes to pay an unexpected visit. An anxious plea, a surrender of my worry, a simple call out to God saying “Hey, I’m scared and I need you” have been some of the most powerful prayers I’ve prayed.
Here are three of my favorite ways to pray through the anxious moments of life:
A Short and Sweet Redirection and Reminder
Not only am I prone to anxiety, but if there was a championship for worry, you could also say I’m a pro at anxiety. What’s better though, is that if there was a championship for short and sweet anxiety-smashing prayers, I’d at least be semi-pro. Like a golfer who knows when to use a putter, rather than an iron, I recognize when I need just a little redirection and reminder of who’s in charge, and I pray accordingly.
When I feel anxiety creeping up and I know I need to redirect my thoughts, I meditate on short phrases like the following:
- “Jesus, I trust in you.” An affirmation of who is in control and a surrender of my anxieties.
- “Be still and know that I am God.” A reminder to rest. Stop spinning the wheel of anxiety and know that God is so much bigger than what my worry wants to see.
- “Do not be afraid, I am with you.” The reassurance that God is always by my side and that with Him there, fear is not necessary.
- “Jesus.” A simple prayer with “Je” prayed on the inhale and “sus” on the exhale – a calling out to Christ. This is especially helpful if I’m worked up. All I need to do is breathe and call out to Jesus. He knows what to do.
Relying on the Intercession of Saints
Satan attacks me in my anxiety because he knows that is where I’m weakest. Where God says “I am with you” Satan says “But is He really?” Satan says “You haven’t worried enough – worry some more. If you worry enough you might change things.” But God says “Prayer changes things.” Satan uses my anxiety against me and tries to isolate me in a desert of despair, in an effort to pull me far away from God. But God uses my anxiety for His ultimate good and takes those moments to draw near to me, reminding me I will never be alone.
And even though I know that Satan, in his trickery, is simply trying to weasel his way into my mind however he can, some days his attacks feel unrelenting and unbearable. Unluckily for Satan, I have some pretty awesome friends who come to my aid at the drop of a hat (or a prayer) and protect me against his cruelty.
In moments when I’m surely drowning, I rely on our Blessed Mother and St. Michael the Archangel – two people who are powerful defenses against the devil — the kind of friends you’d want to have on the playground. I pray the following prayers and imagine myself being hidden beneath mantle and shield as the devil retreats in defeat:
Hail Mary
Hail Mary,
Full of Grace,
The Lord is with thee.
Blessed art thou among women, and blessed is the fruit
of thy womb, Jesus.
Holy Mary,
Mother of God,
pray for us sinners now,
and at the hour of our death.
Amen.
St. Michael Prayer
Saint Michael the Archangel, defend us in battle. Be our protection against the wickedness and snares of the devil; May God rebuke him, we humbly pray; And do thou, O Prince of the Heavenly Host, by the power of God, cast into hell Satan and all evil spirits who prowl throughout the world seeking the ruin of souls.
Amen.
Laying it All on the Table
One thing that I’ve learned in adulthood, which has been especially highlighted over the past few years, is that talking about my anxiety is immensely important. For a long time, I held the “fake it ‘til you make it” philosophy with my anxiety – hoping that if I pretended I didn’t have anxiety for long enough I’d eventually wake up without any anxiety at all. Can you guess how well that worked out for me?
Praying through my anxiety sometimes looks like a conversation with a friend (the truest friend I could ever ask for) where I can be 100% honest about my fears. Sometimes I’ll spend time telling God about all that is giving me qualms and then I sit in silence and listen. Sometimes I feel an urge to read the Bible or listen to worship music. Sometimes I just enjoy the peacefulness of a lighter heart.
Prayers don’t always have to be fancy, or even make sense, to be effective. In my most anxious and exhausted moments, I open the door to my heart and say “look at this mess.” And Jesus climbs inside and helps me pick up the piles that have become all-consuming and talks to me while we dig through messes I’ve been too overwhelmed to clean up.
Whether through conversation or invitation, I lay it all on the table for Jesus and he always shows up to walk by my side in the trenches.
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I invite you to lean into God in your anxiety. Whether it be great or small, He is there. Rest assured of two things:
Our human existence will never be void of worry.
But God and His infinite love for you will always be greater, more powerful, more merciful, and longer-lasting than the anxieties of this life.
Note from the Author: This blog post was originally written for Women at the Well and was published on their blog in July of 2021. Women at the Well is a nonprofit organization dedicated to supporting and empowering Catholic women to grow in Faith + Community. Women at the Well has been such a blessing in my life. Check them out at Women at the Well to find out how you can bring Women at the Well to your parish!
