Prayer for Stress Management During Our Daily Activities

I am a mother, wife, sister, and friend to many. I work fulltime and have a great calling on my life to be a Mental Health Counselor, which I am working towards. I’m blessed to have other gifts and talents that the Lord God has provided me. I, along with many other women, wear many hats. We fulfill many roles in a 24-hour period. That can be an enjoying and wonderful experience and some women do it with divine grace. Then on the flip side, it can be a stressful, worrisome, and grievous.  

Our day-to-day activities of work, school, mentoring, raising children, cooking, cleaning, preparing, studying, exercising, running errands, mission, and much more can take a toll on our physical bodies as well as our spirituals minds. As women of God, we have a greater influence and character we are to impress upon and display in the lives of others. This too, can be tiresome if we don’t have the energy to preserve our spiritual temples.

There are many scholars, articles, tools and tips that will describe to you ways on how to manage stress in your life. I’ve read MANY and agreed with some. Stress has been described in its many types, ways, roots, when, where, what, why and how. Though… trials, tribulations and triumphs have taught me that stress is the emotional and physical manifestation of good and bad stimulations upon a person’s mind. I am reminded of Jesus when he went to pray in Gethsemane (Matthew 26:36-56 ESV).

“And taking with him Peter and the two sons of Zebedee, he began to be sorrowful and troubled. Then he said to them, “My soul is very sorrowful, even to death; remain here, and watch with me.” And going a little farther he fell on his face and prayed, saying, “My Father, if it be possible, let this cup pass from me; nevertheless, not as I will, but as you will.”

Talk about STRESSFUL! Jesus was not only concerned with what was going on, he asked his disciples to be on guard while he went to pray in solitude just to come back to find them SLEEPING. HEY! What happen to the support system of friends when you need them? (Hint, Hint) Jesus was stressed, tired, upset and worried, but he did something many of us inadequately do when we are stressed; he went sincerely to the Father, released his burdens to him, and said…not as I will, but as you will.

As a woman, I can attest that when stress impresses upon my mind, and even yours, we can habitually think about all the things that are stressful at one time. Overloading the mind and spirit. We even become tire in thought because we overthink OUR WILL and not receive the WILL of God. We look to our friends and love ones asking them to pray for our strength when they too could be stressed or worst… ”sleeping” during prayer.

I appeal to you, let this mind be in you that was first in Christ Jesus (Philippians 2:5). We are to seek ye first the kingdom of God, and all his righteous and all these things will be added to us (Matthew 6:33). If Jesus didn’t go to the Father in prayer and released all his cares and concerns to him and said, “Not my will, but yours”, who knows what the turn out could’ve been. Speaking as a woman who has been stressed a time or two times over…Jesus could’ve came back and snapped on the disciples and been completely out of the will of God. Stress is just a hop and skip away from temptation!

We as women have a great counselor in times of stress. When we, as women start to think about all those things that we should be or could be doing or why this and that didn’t happen, all at one time, stress sets in. Stress management for the woman of God is the comfort of God’s grace and mercy because HIS yoke is easy and HIS burdens are light (Matthew 11:30). I appeal to you to ALWAYS go the throne of grace in times of stress to renew your mind (Romans 12:2). Jesus provided us this clear example of stress management doing his daily activities. We can’t perform to an optimal spiritual experienced if we allow stress to overcome us. We too, can do this because we have the spirit of God in us! Thank you Lord!

Prayer

Father God, as we humbly approach your throne, seeking your wisdom, will, grace, and mercy, through adoration, confession, thanksgiving, and supplication, we are ever thankful. We know we can come to you in times of stress, worry, and grief, releasing our cares unto you. Let us have the mind of Christ, the character of Christ and the spirit of Christ during stressful and joyful times in our lives. We have a mighty counselor, the Holy Spirit, who is certified through you and by you to counsel us. It is not our will, but your will, and we confidently know in spirit and mind that the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard our hearts and minds. Glory to God! Amen!  

Submitted By:
Nicole Redmond
Young Adult Missionary (YAM) chairperson for the NorthWest Texas Conference
Women's Missionary Society President Thomas Chapel AME, Copperas Cove, Texas