Are you prepared to discover how to dismantle the spirit of fear the enemy has erected in your mind and heart? Jesus revealed the solution to you. The first step to overcoming the spirit of fear is by rearranging your priorities and combating it with fervent prayers. This is precisely what He was referring to in Matthew 6:33 when He said, “Seek first His kingdom and His righteousness, and all these things will be added to you.”
To put it another way, God promises to protect you from other things in life that can make you nervous or fearful if you spend your time and energy aligning yourself with what He is doing to advance His kingdom on earth. When Jesus said, “Do not worry about tomorrow; for tomorrow will take care of itself,” He stressed this. Every day presents enough difficulties on its own (verse 34).
God gives you grace one day at a time. He will not give you tomorrow’s grace today, and you don’t need it. Why? Because His Word tells us, “His compassions never fail. They are new every morning; great is Your faithfulness” (Lamentations 3:22–23).
In essence, you are telling God that you do not trust Him if you are afraid and worried about what will happen tomorrow. You are letting Him know that you don’t trust Him. And instead of assisting you in overcoming your addictive behavior, you are allowing your own thoughts to spiral into a cycle of suffering and fear. To worry about the future is to forfeit your present tranquility and success. Let it go.
What do you do when fear begins to consume your thoughts and won’t let you go?
The Bible reveals that the best antidote to fear and anxiety is prayer. To see what is involved in prayer and what prayer can do for your fears, look at Philippians 4:6–7. Verse 6 says, “Be anxious for nothing, but in everything by prayer and supplication with thanksgiving let your requests be made known to God.”
When fear overtakes you, start by overcoming it with God’s truth. God advises you to change your focus because you are controlled by anyone or whatever has control of your mind. God doesn’t want you to be consumed by your fearful thoughts. God wants you to put your attention on Him and let His Word and Spirit guide you. Because of this, prayer is crucial. This formula is straightforward. Be fearful for nothing, but in everything, pray.
Philippians 4:6 uses the general word for prayer as well as the more specific word “supplication,” which refers to asking for the answer to a specific need. Essentially that means you are to pray about everything, whether your request is general or specific. If you have a nagging fear but cannot seem to pinpoint what it is, take it to the Lord in prayer—He knows what it is. Or if you have a specific fear that you can see clearly in your mind, take that to Him too. Ask Him to help you remove your fears and replace them with His truth, and then thank Him in faith for doing that for you.
Prayer: O Lord my father, help me to take courage in knowing well, Kill the spirit of fear in my heart because you are ultimately in control of all things and you have promised never to leave me or forsake me. Thank you, Jesus, for your promises which overcome fear and bring me peace in Jesus’s name, Amen.
