A Prayer for When You're Afraid

A Prayer for When You're Afraid

For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but of power and of love and of a sound mind. 2 Timothy 1:7 (NKJV)

Sometimes I am brave.

Brave, might not be the right word, perhaps fearless is better. Better, only because fearless can be separated into two words: fear and less, which is just about how I manage to fake courage. I just try to fear less.

Fear tends to find me easily. It always has.

As a child I used to walk through the house late at night, pausing in each room to check each family member still breathed.

Perhaps it was this tendency towards irrational fear that caused my parents to put 2 Timothy 1:7 to a tune.

It’s one of the first songs I can remember learning. I sang it many nights when I was afraid:

For God’s not given me a spirit of fear,

But a spirit of love,

and of power, and a sound mind,

To live each day and glorify his name. I still sing it sometimes.

I sang it on dark, lonely nights driving back from the hospital where I had just left my husband and I sing it sometimes when I wonder if God can see my future.

I love that this song taught me a bible verse without even trying.

It also taught me from my earliest days that fear doesn’t have power over me and that fear doesn’t need to overcome me because fear isn’t from God.

Fear can be replaced with God's power, his love and a sound mind. (tweet this)

Now when I sing this song I understand what I didn’t as a child, that perfect love – like the way God loves us – can drive out fear.

When I ask God to replace my fear with his power, love and a sound mind, he will.

Knowing that God is bigger than anything I fear helps me to be fearless. (tweet this)

Ponder: Do you believe God is bigger than anything you fear?

Prayer: God, you haven’t given me a spirit of fear. Come and replace my fear with your power and your love so I may have a sound mind to live each day glorifying you. Amen.