“It is not God’s will that you lead a life of perpetual anxiety. It is not His will that
you face every day with dread and trepidation. He made you for more than a life of breath-stealing
angst and mind-splitting worry. He has a new chapter for your life. And He is ready to write it.”
Max Lucado, Anxious for Nothing
There are those who say that prayer changes things. I can’t argue with that; prayer does change
things. But that is not the primary purpose of prayer. Notice that we entered this passage in anxiety,
with worry, and we came out of the passage with peace. Between the two was prayer. Have things
changed? Not really. The storm may still be raging, the waves still rolling high, the thunder still
resounding. Although the storm has not abated, something has happened in the individual.
Something has happened to the human soul and the human mind. In our anxiety we want God to
change everything around us. “Give us this.” “Don’t let this happen.” “Open up this door.” We should
be praying, “Oh, God, change me .” Prayer is the secret of power. We enter with worry, we can come
out in peace. Joy is the source of power; prayer is the secret of power. (McGee, J V: Thru the Bible
Commentary: Thomas Nelson)
