I am currently reading through Every Moment Holy Volume III: The Work of the People. It’s part of a series of liturgies for all the parts and moments that make up our lives. There’s something for planting a garden, going on a trip, celebrating birthdays, and all the other activities and occasions that fill all the days we are given.

I read one a day as my devotional. This particular volume has spoken deeply to me. One in particularly that hit home was entitled A Prayer for the Anxious Heart. Here it is:

“God, I confess that there are moments when I cannot sense you near, times when anxiety and frustration overwhelm, and I find no help or consolation. I wish that I dwelt in a state where my hope and my confidence were always rooted and certain, my thoughts unclouded. But it is not always so. 

Here I drag my heavy heart to see if you will meet me in my place of doubt and fear. I believe, Lord. Help my unbelief. For where else but to you will I go with my worries? You alone have the words of eternal life. 

This I know to be true, my Lord and my God: You are not angered by my worries and my fears, for they have often been the very things that lead me to press closer into you, seeking the comfort of your presence. 

In your presence, I can offer my anxieties knowing you are never threatened by them. 

They do not change your truth.

My doubts cannot unseat your promises.

You are a rock, Jesus.

You alone are strong enough to carry the weight of my troubled thoughts. 

O Lord, let these fears never compel me to hide my heart from you. Let them rather lead me to begin holy conversations with you, make them into invitations to be present with you. Let me despair of my own knowledge and control and instead seek your face, knowing that when I plead for security and for answers, what I most need is your presence.”