Anxiety, fear, and worry are common words of the day. Have you ever been going through some trial and wondered where God was? God had answered my prayers in desperate states when I needed him to come through. Yet my first thought when something happens has often been fear and anxiety. It should be that God has done it before, and he will again. How do we get that first peaceful response and keep anxiety from getting a hold on us? God gives us the answer in his word.
 Do not be anxious or worried about anything, but in everything [every circumstance and situation] by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, continue to make your [specific] requests known to God. And the peace of God [that peace which reassures the heart, that peace] which transcends all understanding, [that peace which] stands guard over your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus [is yours].
Philippians 4:6-7
Step One
God tells us not to be anxious or worried but to pray and make requests. He also gives us the key in Philippians chapter 4. We should ask, “With thanksgiving.” When we are thankful for what God has done and what he has answered in the past, it builds our faith for the future. We’ve all forgotten a time when we desperately pleaded with God, and he answered. It’s human nature to quickly forget these terrible states while experiencing the joy and excitement of the answer. The problem with forgetting our desperate times is we also forget how good God was to us. Faith builds on faith; we need to remember. How do we prevent this forgetfulness?
Our fathers in Egypt did not understand nor appreciate Your miracles; they did not remember the abundance of Your mercies nor imprint Your lovingkindnesses on their hearts, but they were rebellious at the sea, at the [a]Red Sea.
Psalm 106:7
The Imprint
God’s people were slaves to the Egyptians for hundreds of years; they cried out to God in their pain and oppression. God heard Israel’s prayers and delivered them with mighty miracles. God literally surrounded them with miracles as he escorted them to the promised land. Their mistake was they didn’t allow God’s goodness and answered prayers to change them. They also didn’t allow his mercy and miracles to change their view of God. If they had, they would have saved themselves a lot of stress, pain, and heartache. If we want to stand against anxiety successfully, we need to know that he is good and faithful.
Then Israel believed in [the validity of] His words; They sang His praise, but they quickly forgot His works; They did not [patiently] wait for His counsel and purpose [to be revealed regarding them],
Psalm 106:12-13
Lasting Impressions
We make a lasting imprint by spending time thanking him for the great things he’s done in our lives. We should take time to sit with the uncomfortable memories of our helplessness, despair, anxiousness, and pain but in the light of God’s answered prayers. It allows us to believe him in our current situations; it enables us to pray with thankfulness. Should he perform miracles for us, and we not return to thank him, to allow it to change us or at least our view of him? When our focus is crafted in this manner, it strengthens us to give anxiety the boot.
