5 Prayers for God to Move the Mountains of Anxiety in Your Life

1. Rejoicing Prayer

Rejoice, especially when you don’t feel joyful. Paul exhorted the persecuted early Christians to “rejoice in the Lord always. I will say it again: Rejoice” (Philippians 4:4, NIV). He repeated the direction to clarify rejoicing as a willful decision instead of feeling. We can’t switch emotions on or off, but we can choose our thoughts, words, and behaviors. Scripture reveals the key to moving mountains from our hearts begins with acts of our will.

To rejoice in prayer, first change your mental perspective. Zoom out from a problem-centered focus to a God-centered gaze. Note three to five of the Lord’s characteristics that relate to your current situation. You may select them from a list of God’s names available online. Contemplate his wonders and goodness. Declare your worship of the Lord for the infinite perfection of his nature. Celebrate the love of your creator. Thank the Lord for who he is. Praise Jesus for who he is to you.

Establish the Lord’s goodness as the foundation of your well-being regardless of your circumstances. Declare his faithfulness over each of your worries.

Scriptures to include in your rejoicing prayers: Philippians 4:4, Psalm 13:5-6, Psalm 34, Psalm 16, Psalm 96

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/stockfour 

2. Timeless Presence Prayer

Dwell on Christ’s presence in this moment. Thank the Lord for his nearness to you in the present.

When worries about tomorrow enter your mind, picture Jesus there. Envision the Lord as immense and sovereign over the future. In each scenario triggering fear, visualize God as infinitely greater than the issue. As soon as you redefine the concern, shift your awareness back to Jesus’ presence in the moment.

The darkness in our minds can tempt us to imagine our situation as an exception to grace. Bring those issues out into the light of your God-versation. Confess any objections or exclusions to the Savior. Remind yourself of his all-encompassing declaration, “It is finished.” For each trigger of shame or doubt, develop a clear mental image of the cross obliterating it.

Scriptures to include in your timeless presence prayers: Psalm 139:9-18, Joshua 1:5-9, Deuteronomy 31:8, Psalm 73:23-26, Matthew 28:20, Psalm 23:4, John 14:1-4, 1 Peter 5:7

Photo Credit: ©iStock/Getty Images Plus/aldomurillo 

3. Battle Submission Prayer

Begin this God-versation by acknowledging your struggles. Fear has set you on the front lines of two battles—one within you and another pressing in from outside. Internal struggles have overwhelmed you while surrounding troubles advanced in ambush.

Talk to your heavenly Father about the strife in your heart and from circumstances. Share your feelings of helplessness or despair on both fronts. Acknowledge the anxiety that conscripted you into this war zone, where surrender is your only escape.

Ask God to help you resist the temptation to give in to fear. Thank Jesus as he meets you on the fighting grounds and invites you to submit to him instead. Surrender both your inner and external battles to the Lord. Imagine kneeling on the blood-soaked earth at Christ’s pierced feet. Release your white-knuckled grip on the banner of your attempts to take command in the wars. Lay the standard at his feet and call on his name as Yahweh Nissi, which means the Lord is my Banner.

Speak the powerful words of Jesus’ surrender prayer when he suffered at Gethsemane, “Your will be done.” Ask the Lord to help your soul align with his as you repeat Christ’s words.

While submitting the inner and outer fights to the Lord, thank him for his faithfulness. Thank God for the victories you have not yet seen. Express gratitude as he takes over to fight your battles for you.

Scriptures to include in your battle submission prayers: Psalm 31, Psalm 33:16-22, Psalm 91, Exodus 14:14, Deuteronomy 20:1-4, 2 Chronicles 20:15

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Olaf Speier 

4. Gratitude Prayer

Declare your adoration for the Lord throughout this prayer because love serves as the most powerful antidote to fear. Gratitude can steer you toward the peace of dwelling in God’s love. Anxiety may block you from feeling grateful, but you can choose to shift your words and thoughts. List every kindness and mercy God provides, especially when you don’t feel thankful. Cite his goodness to shift your view from the tunnel vision of fear.

Thank the Lord for every blessing you would miss if it vanished. Include benefits you might otherwise take for granted, like breath, a heartbeat, and sunlight. Praise him for salvation and the gift of the Holy Spirit. Express gratitude for God’s care for your loved ones.

Expand your prayer to include God’s faithfulness in ways you cannot see. Thank the Lord for protecting you from evil, even when you had no awareness of an attack. Praise him for future blessings he has planned for you.

Scriptures to include in your gratitude prayers: Psalm 16, Psalm 51:10-13, Psalm 104, Psalm 118, Luke 22:19, 1 Thessalonians 5:16-18, Hebrews 12:28

Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/AaronAmat 

5. Servant-Hearted Prayer

Praise the Lord for sculpting you with a beautiful heart. Recognize that he created you for dreams and passions that include concern for his will in your life and others’ lives. Some of your current worries may have originated as a normal human need or God-inspired motive. When benign cares spiral in the wrong direction and mutate into fretting, anxiety takes over.

Express your fears to the Lord and ask him to show you the concerns they might reveal. Ask the Creator of your soul if your anxiety might connect to a basic need or an issue that he intended you to care about. Invite the Redeemer to restore your heart in these areas. Listen to his heartbeat for you as he guides you from terrified to trusting. Submit your fears in exchange for his healing and calming love.

Pray for the Holy Spirit to guide you toward ways you can serve others out of your redeemed concerns. Ask the Lord to strengthen your faith so you can trust him with your needs and your potential outreach to others. Pray for his protection over your mind and heart to prevent you from slipping back into worry. Thank him for the opportunity to share in his work of guiding others toward love and peace.

Scriptures to include in your servant-hearted prayers: Philippians 4:9, Matthew 6:33-34, 2 Corinthians 9:8, Colossians 3:15-17, 2 Timothy 1:6-9, Matthew 20:26-28

Whether you choose one of these templates or another pattern altogether, turn to prayer each time anxiety strikes. No matter how many times the worries return. Resist thoughts of shame when fear ambushes your mind and heart.

The Lord knows our struggle. He offers us words from scripture to guide us closer to him when we experience anxiety. God engineered scripture with 366 verses to address fear. He gave us insights for every day, including the extra one in each leap year.

Before his crucifixion, Jesus shed his first drops of blood through his sweat glands. He conquered the mountain of anxiety and went on to defeat sin and death. When we immerse our minds and hearts in Christ, we align with his victory over all our reasons to fear.

If you struggle to apply the healing work of prayer on your own, seek support from a Christian life coach, mentor, or counselor. Faith-based professionals can help you with extra tools and insights from personal experience. Serving you could provide them the opportunity to live out the God-given purpose of their servant-hearted prayers.

Photo Credit: ©Getty Images/Mladen Zivkovic 

Related video:

‘Trust In You’ – Beautiful Worship Song From Lauren Daigle  from lauren-daigle on GodTube.