These two verses can make life sound like a fairy tale. We pray, and peace comes. But how many times have you prayed and the inner turmoil didn’t let up? Maybe it’s because giving up our requests to God requires surrender of the anxieties and outcomes to God. How often do we actually do that?
When we open our hearts and lips to pray, we also have a responsibility to let go of the results.

Jesus is willing to shoulder our worries when we’re willing to trust Him.

Paul urges us in Philippians to go to God with gratitude and let our worries, concerns, and anticipations be made known to God. When we let go of those requests, the next verse tells us the peace of God will stand guard over our hearts and minds.

When we understand the gravity of God’s unfailing love and faithfulness to his children, we can sit gratefully at His feet with our simple prayers and fully surrender to His will. Then we will experience the kind of peace we’ve been longing for, the peace that surpasses all understanding.

What has you anxious or worried today? Have you tried to speak them out loud and visualize laying them at the foot of the cross as they come to mind?

Here’s a place to begin your prayer: Father God, I surrender. I let go of the things keeping me up at night. I lay at Your feet the worries weighing me down during the day. Jesus, I declare my trust is in Your love and faithfulness as soon as the words leave my mouth. I ask for Your peace that surpasses all.