Perfect Love Casts out Fear

"There is no fear in love, but perfect love casts out fear." I John 4:18

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I'm anxious about a lot of things. It ranges from the mundane to the existential, depending on my mood. It's the human condition, and at times in my life this anxiety has been more or less present. Lately, it has been less present thanks to the help of pulsatilla and indoplex. These two keep your girl hormones and mood in check, and I'm so thankful for them!

I was talking to Randy Vorce - of all people - about my anxiety, and he suggested contemplative prayer. I had heard it mentioned, but I didn't know much about it. Tell me more.... In his understanding contemplative prayer is simply releasing your concerns to God and receiving his love. Sounds simple enough.

For the past few weeks, this has been my pattern in prayer. I release prayers of thanksgiving, supplication, confession, and after each I peacefully meditate on receiving God's love. It's slow and heart-warming.

It's been a wonderfully anxiety-reducing way to pray. Things in my life that are constant worries seem softened, and my heart feels encouraged that God is with me. He genuinely accepts me in the middle of the messiness of life. And best of all, I look forward to it. I find myself spontaneously praying this way during the day without much effort. Which is really helpful because I don't feel an internal pressure to "keep up my spiritual discipline."

If you find yourself going through a time of anxiety, I would recommend trying this mode of prayer. It is a good rest and reminder of how we are genuinely taken care of by our God.