Why ‘Pray about Everything’ Means More Than We Think

By Jessica Brodie

I’ll be honest—I used to hear that scripture, “pray about everything,” and bristle because it felt like a flippant platitude, a pat saying people who had their lives together might offer. You’re probably familiar with it, because it’s a much beloved and well-known scripture:

“Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done” (Philippians 4:6 NLT).

As a woman who’s been a prayer warrior for a long time, I know the value of prayer, and I’ve been praying intently for a long time. But I confess that the phrasing, as well as the fact that I’d see it everywhere from T-shirts to coffee cups, used to make the verse feel like a nursery rhyme, something we just say as if it were the easy answer to all of life’s problems. Your spouse died? Pray about it. You’ve got cancer? Pray about it. Money is tight this month? Pray about it. You’ve got a hangnail? Pray about it.

Maybe that’s how you feel sometimes, too. Maybe you’re knee-deep right now in heavy suffering that has broken your heart. Maybe you’ve been fervently praying every day, on your knees to God, and getting what feels like silence, and the doubts have begun to creep in. Maybe you wonder if he even cares.

Here’s the real truth: God does care. And prayer really does help.

And I have learned that this scripture is no nursery rhyme platitude or easy, pat suggestion flippantly uttered when life goes awry.

When the apostle Paul tells us we’re supposed to pray about everything, he really means it. He means everything. And it’s not for the reason we might think, which is that prayer gets us stuff.

The point of prayer is not to treat God like some genie who’s there to grant our wishes because we love him and because we are his children, that somehow we are “deserving” of his favor. The point of prayer is to serve as a conversation with our Creator, our Father, the one who knitted us together in our mother’s womb. Prayer is a lifeline because it keeps us in connection with the Lord.

The truth is that it doesn’t actually matter how he answers the prayer, either. God is God regardless. What matters is that we know God is God, that we know he’s the only one truly worth talking to or who can do anything about our situation. That we know he’s the only one who genuinely understands why it’s so hard and why we need help.

That’s why going to him consistently and constantly—whether that’s for something really minuscule and petty or something life-shattering—is so important. It all goes back to what Jesus taught in John 15, about how he is the vine and we are the branches.

Jesus was talking about how he is the way to eternal life and that by believing in him, we become God’s children, too. We get salvation and eternal life, and we get to be connected to God the Father through Jesus and through the power of the Holy Spirit living inside of us.

Whatever we can do to fan the flames, to increase the strength of that connection, is important. That means prayer, yes. But also it means spending time in nature, reading God’s word, connecting with other people or animals, and loving our neighbor with all of our heart.

Take heart: “Pray about everything” is no nursery rhyme or flippant response. It is a way for us to actively work on our connection to God, the Father, who loves us extravagantly and perfectly, and it’s a way for us to love him back.

A prayer: Dear Heavenly Father, thank you for your great love for me and for all your children. Thank you for letting someone like me, a mere human being, be allowed and encouraged to talk with you and go to you with my problems and trust that you do care regardless of how you choose to answer my prayer. Thank you that I can go to you in all things big and small. I love you, God. Amen.

If you know someone who would benefit from reading this blog, please share this with them:

MY NEW NOVEL RELEASES MAY 5

I’m so excited to announce that my novel *Hidden Seeds*—book 3 in the Dahlia Series—launches May 5. Here's the cover. What do you think? *Hidden Seeds* is about a woman who is rebuilding her life after devastating betrayal and loss. She opens a small-town art shop, where an unlikely friendship with a human trafficking survivor is tested when her teenage sister disappears into the same darkness her new friend barely escaped. It will be available as a paperback, ebook, and audiobook. Learn more about the book here.

A great team is always behind any successful book. If you’’re interested in being a part of the launch team for my faith-based novel, *Hidden Seeds*, click here to fill out the form and join. Or if you prefer, just email me at jessica@jessicabrodie.com.

Come hang out with me!

If you live anywhere near Charlotte/Rock Hill, I’ll be at the Fort Mill Public Library in South Carolina April 18 from 10-12 for a free Carolina Christian book event . Come see me! You’ll be able to meet and chat with Christian authors, buy books, meet other Christian readers, and have some fun. Authors in addition to me are Robert Whitlow, Misty M. Beller, Vincent B. Davis II, E.V. Sparrow, Pamela Lewis, Dianne Miley, Jennifer Chastain, Seralynn Lewis, Kyle Hunter, Tim Eichenbrenner, Janice Cole Hopkins, Heidi Gray McGill, and Katherine Pasour, plus The Wandering Words and Sparkler Magazine.