Prayer or Worry: Choose Your Path

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Have you ever caught yourself praying about a situation only to spend the next few hours obsessively worrying about it? That spiritual tug-of-war is the focus of this heartfelt episode where we explore the fundamental incompatibility between prayer and worry.

Drawing from Philippians 4:6-7, we dive deep into why these two responses can't coexist - because prayer is the act of handing something over to God, while worry is essentially grabbing it right back. With raw vulnerability, I share my current season of struggling to truly surrender my concerns, admitting how I've prayed with my mouth while worrying with my heart. This honest confession opens up a space for genuine reflection on how exhausting it is to live caught between faith and fear.

The breakthrough comes in understanding a simple but profound truth: worry is talking to yourself about your problems, while prayer is talking to God about them. When we truly pray - when we pour out our souls before our Creator - we're invited to lay our burdens down and leave them there. Yet so many of us metaphorically run back, snatch up our worries, and continue carrying what was never ours to hold. God is strong enough, wise enough, and loving enough to handle whatever concerns us today, and He doesn't need our help to solve our problems.

Whether you're in a season of struggle or simply want to deepen your prayer life, this episode offers both comfort and challenge. Remember to extend grace to yourself in the process - learning to fully trust takes time for many of us. Share your thoughts if this message resonated with you, and know that whatever you're facing, you're never alone. Keep praying, believing, trusting, and letting go - because we were never meant to do both.

Episode Transcript

Kerry (00:12):
Hello, hello, hello, my fellow unicorns, Welcome back to
the Melanin Unicorn Podcast,the podcast where we slow down,
catch our breath and center oursouls.
Today's episode is one that'sbeen sitting on my heart for a
while, and it's aptly titledPrayer and Worry.

(00:35):
But you can't do both Now.
I know that sounds bold, almostimpossible, right?
Because, if you're anythinglike me, there have been seasons
where I prayed with my mouthbut worried with my heart and
full transparency.
I am in this season right now.

(00:58):
That's why I thought theepisode would not only help me
to refocus, but also help someof you that may be in this
season as well.
So let's talk about it, let'sget into this episode, my love.

(01:20):
So there's this verse.
I'm pretty sure many of youhave heard it before, have read

(01:43):
it it before, have read it anumber of times, have heard it
preached in your churches, andfor those who are listening, who
may have never heard it, it isPhilippians, chapter 4, verses 6
through 7.
And it reads as so as so, donot be anxious about anything,

(02:10):
but in everything, by prayer andpetition, with thanksgiving,
present your requests to God.
This promises peace.
True, true peace is peace, true, true peace.
But how often have.
We read this verse over and overand many of us have even have

(02:32):
it memorized, and we still don'tembrace or accept that this
verse is speaking, speaking toyou, it's speaking to me.
It sounds simple, but livingthat out, that's where the
rubber meets the road.
See, prayer and worry are likeoil and water.

(02:58):
They don't mix, they can't,because prayer is the act of
handing something over to God,worry is grabbing it right back.
Prayer says God, I trust you,whereas worry says well, god,

(03:20):
just in case you don't comethrough, just in case you don't
come through.
And friend my sisters, myunicorn tribe, I get it.
We want to control things, wewant answers now, we want

(03:53):
certainty, but prayer issurrender.
It's not a backup plan, it'sthe plan, the only plan,
sometimes right, but let me tellyou about a time, right now,
that I'm wrestling with both,and there is situations that I'm
facing something I couldn't fix, couldn't figure out.

(04:15):
I prayed a lot, but my anxietywas louder than my faith, and I
pray in the morning and and bynoon I was spiraling With what
ifs, lord, what ifs, what ifs,what ifs.
And then, one night last week,as a matter of fact, I just got

(04:39):
real, real, real with God.
And I said, lord, I can't keepdoing both.
I either believe you've gotthis or you don't.
Help me to choose to trust you.
And that night I felt such apeace.

(05:02):
My dreams were peaceful, andnot because the situation
changed, but because I made thedecision to change, to trust God
.
Sometimes our backs have to beagainst the wall and sometimes

(05:28):
it doesn't.
Sometimes you just get sick andtired of being sick and tired
of spiraling, of the what ifs,of playing different scenarios.
Well, if I do this or and if Isay this, the outcome is going

(05:48):
to be so different, it's goingto be so in my favor.
And what if it isn't Right?
Honestly, what if it isn't so?

(06:25):
If you're listening to thisepisode today, or someone new
finds it, and you're listeningto it in the future, and you
find your heart is tangled up infear, I want you to pause,
breathe and ask yourself am Ipraying or am I worrying?

(06:53):
Because doing both will wearyou completely out.
And here's the truth Worry istalking to yourself about your
problems, but prayer is talkingto God about them, them.

(07:18):
And when you pray and I meanreally pray, and you know what
kind of prayers you will birthout of your soul, out of your
spirit, because that's whenyou're really really praying.
Right, you are invited to layit down and leave it there.
Now, listen, I know that thisis easier said than done,
because many of us, we pray, wewalk away, and then we turn

(07:41):
around, we run back, we snatchit up and then we just march off
right and then we just, youknow, and then we have this
thing like, oh, I don'tunderstand what's going on.
That's because we haven't laidit down fully and completely.
And so this is a call to action, a CTA for us and for myself.

(08:11):
When I pray, whatever thesituation is and I have a number
of them to lay it down andleave it there, even when I'm
tempted to turn around and runback and snatch it back up, I
may turn around or I may glanceover my shoulder, but I am not

(08:36):
picking those things back up,and neither are you.
It will take time, okay, forsome of us we are able to do it
one, two, three but for othersof us it's going to take a
little time.
And remember, I need you tohave grace for yourself, I need

(08:57):
you to have mercy for yourself,I need you to love yourself.
You feel like people arepointing their fingers at you or
are accusing you of nottrusting God, of not being a

(09:18):
follower of the way right whichis Jesus.
But have that grace and thatmercy, because let me tell you
something God has it for you, hehas grace, he has mercy.
He.
Let me tell you something Godhas it for you, he has grace, he
has mercy, he has love for you.
We need to have the same thingfor our self, and I want to

(09:43):
encourage you today.
You don't have to keep carryingwhat was never yours to hold or
carry.
God is strong enough.
He does not need your help, hedoesn't need my help.
He is strong, he is wise, he isloving.

(10:03):
So let's stop trying to carryburdens.
We've already prayed about mysisters.
Let's be people.
Let's be sisters.
Let's be daughters.
Let's be queens.
Let's be the person who praylike we believe.

(10:27):
God listens, because he does,and he cares for you, and he
cares for you and he cares forme, and that's it that we are
short today, and just becauseit's short doesn't mean that it

(10:51):
is not going to hit you rightwhere it needs to Correct, okay.
So thank you so much forspending this time with me.
If this episode resonated withyou, I'd love to hear about it.
And if you're walking through atough season, know this you are

(11:15):
not alone.
And until next time, keeppraying, keep believing, keep
trusting and keep letting it go,because we were never meant to

(11:36):
do both.
So be well today, go in graceand go in peace and have the
most remarkable, beautiful andmagical day.
And until our next episode, wewill talk soon.

(11:59):
I love you.