A Prayer to Reject Fear and Walk in Christ's Light

October brings its seasonal theatrics, spiderwebs on front porches, haunted houses, costumes, and movies designed to make us jump. Most of it is harmless fun. We know the monster is wearing a mask. We can walk away when the movie gets too intense.

But the fears we carry in real life are not so easy to turn off when October ends.

Fear that something will happen to someone we love. Fear of receiving bad news. Fear that something painful from the past might happen again. Fear of a future we cannot control. These do not leave with the decorations.

Seven-year-old Marleigh loves Jesus with the uncomplicated faith of a child. She knows He loves her, that He is with her, that He takes care of her. And she is also learning something most of us spend our whole lives learning: knowing Jesus is with us does not mean we will never feel afraid.

One afternoon on a jet ski on a lake, a storm came up. The sky darkened. The wind picked up. The water churned. She was small and the lake was large. The storm passed, and she made it safely to shore. But something about that storm stayed with her. Now, whenever the sky begins to darken, fear rushes in before the rain ever does.

Is there going to be a storm? Are we going to be okay?

Isn’t that what fear does? Sometimes we are not afraid of what is happening right now. We are afraid that what happened before might happen again. A dark cloud today carries the memory of yesterday’s storm. And so we remind Marleigh: who is with you? Who takes care of you? Who can you trust even when you are scared?

Not because storms will never come. But because when they do, she will never face them alone.

That is the lesson for all of us. Not reaching a place where fear never comes, but knowing where to run when it does. Faith is not pretending the clouds are not dark. Faith looks at the dark clouds and remembers who is still Lord over the storm.

Ponder Tonight

The spirit God has given us is not one of fear but of power, love, and sound judgment. That does not mean we will never feel fear. It means fear does not get the final word.

The fears that feel most persistent are often not about the present moment. They are the body’s memory of a past storm, triggering the same alarm even when the current situation is entirely different.

The practice of asking who is with me, who has carried me before, and who will still be there when I am afraid is not a technique for eliminating fear. It is the habit of returning to what is true when fear is loudest.

Growing in faith does not look like never being afraid. It looks like becoming increasingly practiced at running to Jesus when afraid, and trusting Him there.

Tonight’s Scripture

“For God has not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and sound judgment.” — 2 Timothy 1:7, CSB

Your Evening Prayer

Lord Jesus,

You have not given us a spirit of fear, but one of power, love, and a sound mind. When the storms of life come and the clouds begin to gather, replace our fear with the reminder of Your greatness and Your presence. May we commit the things that consume our minds to You, and receive the peace of God that allows us to rest.

We know You are with us. Remind our hearts of that tonight, in every season, in every storm.

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

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