My Power in Prayer

This morning, I read my Daily Devotional from Proverbs 31 Ministries I get every morning.  Today's particular message was about self-control.  It was mainly about how we need to take control of our reactions to others when they start picking at our last nerve.  They spoke of looking into Scripture for answers, and changing the verbage to make it personal.  One verse they used was 1 Peter 5: 6-8 as "In this moment, I am choosing to be self-controlled and alert.  Your actions are begging me to yell at you and lose control.  But I realize I have an enemy, and that enemy is not you.  The devil is prowling and roaring and looking to devour me through my own lack of self control right now.  But I am God's girl.  That's right.  I am.  So I am going to humbly and quietly let God have his way in me right now.  And when I do this, God will lift me from my frayed nerves up from this situation and fill me with a much better reaction than what I can give you right now.  So, give me just a few minutes and then we can calmly talk about this." 

I work in a bank.  Most would say this is a great gig, but right now, with the instability and constant changes that government is placing on the financial industry, my days can be quite stressful.  I would say 9 out of 10 clients I come in contact with are angry with fees they are charged, and the bank is leaving little to no room for grace on these issues.  Unfortunately, because I am "the face" of the bank in my job, I am the one who is dealt the brunt of the irrate reactions others give me.  I am left most of the time, almost to tears, wondering how people can talk to another human being the way I have been spoken to in the past.  However, if I place this idea into practice, I can find a peace which surpasses all understanding, in Christ.  Another calming reaction I can have is to pray for that particular individual.  Whether or not that person knows Christ, my prayers for whatever is going on in that individual's life gives me a new perspective than what I am seeing sitting on the other side of the desk.  I am able to move past the hurtful things people say, and be someone of compassion and understanding.  

Doing this also helps me to be free.  Free from worries and anxieties that I face every day.  In a given day, I worry so much about so many silly things that many of them never even come to pass.  If I truly put those things in God's hands and back up those truths with Scripture in my life, than what is there to worry about?  God has his hands on everything for me already.  If we as Christians truly know this and believe it, than why do we worry so much?  Philippeans 4: 6 says "Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God." Maybe we all need to put this verse into personal perspection.  I will not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, and with thanksgiving, I will present my requests to God.