Philippians 4:6 Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.
Stress elevates cortisol levels in our body and lowers metabolism. Cortisol is released by the adrenal glands and alerts the body into fight-freeze-flight mode slowing down metabolism. One of the noticeable effects of chronic stress is a craving for fatty, salty or sugary – ‘comfort-food’. Stress may sometimes lead to losing weight but in most people stress slows down metabolism and causes weight gain.
Anxiety tampers with our spiritual metabolism. Worry is a sin. Worry whispers that our problems are too big for God to handle; hence we must take it into our own hands and control the situation. Unfortunately we have zero control on what the day holds or on our children, spouse or job. We have no control over the weather or the financial or economic forecast. Jesus said, “Therefore do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself (Matthew 6:34). The secret of a worry-free tomorrow is in the previous verse. Seek the Kingdom of God above all else, and live righteously, and he will give you everything you need (Matthew 6:33). The golden rule for a stress-free lifestyle is to live totally surrendered to God’s ways and will.
The Lord God will never deprive us of anything good. He knows our needs even before we pray or petition. Worry not only messes with our digestive system but also slows down our spiritual metabolism. Stress would interfere with our prayer routine, wear out our faith and make us bitter and angry. Three keys to boost spiritual metabolism and to live a worry-free lifestyle are prayer, petition and praise.
‘Worry-Free’ lifestyle boosts Spiritual Metabolism:
1. Pray: Prayer is our conversation with the Lord to express our desires, wants, and needs. Once we have downloaded our concerns and cares it is not our problem anymore. It is wrong to say, ‘my disease, my debt or my diagnosis’. Prayer is a transactional exchange of divine peace with our problem. After prayer, our problems change ownership. It becomes God’s problem and He will fight and fix it while we enjoy divine peace.
2. Petition: Petition is different to prayer. Petition is a legal term which means ‘appeal’. Prayer is an expression of our desires and deliberations but petition on the other hand is imploring God for His mercy and grace. Psalm 51 was a petition from David to the Lord to forgive, accept and anoint him afresh. Daniel 9&10 were pleas for the Lord to pardon the sins of the nation. Petition for God’s forgiveness, acceptance and mercy should precede prayer for our wants and needs.
3. Praise: Once we’ve petitioned and prayed, it is important to praise God for taking over our problems. Praise seals the divine transaction with the blood and sets us free from worry. Once our problems become God’s, there is no room for worry. Praise boosts spiritual metabolism.
Worry dampens our spiritual metabolism with questions, qualms and quarrels.
Pray, petition and praise and boost your spiritual metabolism.
Matthew 6:25 Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life.
Prayer: Almighty God, teach me to transfer all my stress to you and live a worry-free life. Amen.
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