CITIZENS LA

Casting Care Prayer

Most people, whether they are aware of it or not, are living with some form of low-grade anxiety. Between digital distraction, relational pain, and daily stress, many of us are carrying burdens much larger than we often choose to acknowledge. This week we want to extend our practice of silence and solitude and focus on casting your cares and burdens on Jesus. We’ll do this through the practice of release. It involves five movements.

1. Create for yourself a quiet space to meet with God
2. Invite the Holy Spirit
3. Write
4. Imagine
5. Release. The goal is not to rush or to do an exercise, but to find freedom in entrusting yourself more fully to Jesus.

Read

  • 1 Peter 5v7
  • Psalm 62v8
  • Philippians 4v6

1.

Create for yourself a quiet space to meet with God.

  • Set aside a modest time on a particular day (we estimate this will take 1-2 hours) to be alone with God. Find a time and place that is quiet and distraction free.

2.

Invite the Holy Spirit to come.

  • Now ask Him to show you areas of personal or relational fear/anxiety. Next, ask Him to show you areas of fear/anxiety associated with the present or future. Take your time and wait on the Holy Spirit.
  • Ask the Father to reveal any areas of unbelief in your life where you don't believe the Father will care for you.

3.

Write.

  • Jot down and list these anxieties/fears down on a piece of paper. Take a few minutes to reflect on what you have written.

4.

Pray and visualize yourself with the Father, and then, one by one, imagine giving (handing) each anxiety to Jesus.

  • This exercise should create a mental snapshot of Jesus doing exactly what He says He will do (Ps. 55:22; Matt. 6:25-26). By handing Jesus your anxieties you are expressing your trust in His ability to take care of you.

5.

Release.

Once you’ve given all of your anxieties to Jesus in prayer, throw it away. This symbolizes that the anxiety has been given to Jesus and that you are now released from the weight and responsibility of the burden.