Photo by Diana Simumpande on Unsplash

I panicked. I did, y’all. I was half asleep when I looked at my phone and saw that one of my close friends messaged me that someone had duplicated one of my social media accounts. Shortly after, a second friend sent me the same warning. Keep in mind that this was bright and early in the morning, and I was supposed to be getting ready and getting my girls up and dressed for school. Not how I had wanted to start my morning. At. All. 

Several questions and emotions crossed my mind, but my first instinct was to panic. Unsteadily holding my phone, I frantically messaged both friends inquiring what I should do, as this had never happened to me before. I had seen this happen to others, but those unrelenting hackers hadn’t driven down my cyber street yet. Both friends were gracious enough to explain what steps I needed to take to address the matter. For those of you who are like me and do not know what to do… report the fraudulent page to the social media platform, encourage friends to report the page, and inform your followers/friends list that your page has been hacked or duplicated in a post. I managed to take all the steps while hurriedly getting myself and my girls ready for school. 

I continued to have feelings of anxiety about this situation while I took my little ones to school. My mind just would not rest. Once I dropped my daughters off at school, an “ah-ha” moment occurred. The Holy Spirit gently reminded me to pray about it. Yes, I said to pray about it. It. My social media account being fraudulently duplicated. After all, 1 Peter 5:7 talks about us giving all of our worries or cares to God because He cares about you and me. My social media account does not fall outside of the scope of all, right?! 

So, there I was driving back home, and I began to pray. “Lord, please fix this situation. Please calm my fears. I am sorry that my first resort was not to bring this to you. I panicked first, but I realized that you fight my battles for me. You are concerned about all of my issues, and nothing is too big or small to bring to you. Thank you, Heavenly Father, for being concerned about every area of my life. In the name of Jesus, Amen.”

Philippians 4:6-7 reminds us, “Don’t worry about anything; instead, pray about everything. Tell God what you need, and thank him for all he has done. Then you will experience God’s peace, which exceeds anything we can understand. His peace will guard your hearts and minds as you live in Christ Jesus.” I promise after I prayed that prayer, peace filled my heart. I thought to myself, “why didn’t I think of that sooner?” I’ll have you know that the duplicated account had been removed when I got back home. See, God was working on my behalf all along, and I was worried for nothing. Our prayers have power, beloved! James 5:16 states, “The prayer from the heart of a man right with God has much power.” 

The scripture passages shared are soothing reminders of the power of prayer. Prayer gives us peace, gives us victory, and shifts our focus from our problems to the Problem Solver. As children of God, our first response and reaction should be prayer and not panic because God has us. God is for us. He is a defender of His children. God is our protector, and we can trust Him with each of our worries, fears, and concerns no matter how big or small the issues may seem to be. 

Those misplaced keys, take it to God. That flat tire, take a deep breath and pray. The pink slip on the job, pray, and don’t panic. We can trust that God is in control and allow His peace to fill our hearts and minds because that is what He promises that He will do in His word. 

Reflect & Relate

When worrisome circumstances present themselves, is your nature to pray first or panic?

What situation are you facing where panic has been your first response that you can commit to prayer?

Let Us Pray

Dear God, my Father… Thank you for reminding me that I do not have to panic. Thank you for reminding me of the power of prayer and giving all of my anxiety, fear, and worry to you. I am so thankful that I am your child, and I can trust you to handle all my problems. No problem is too big, or too small for me to bring to you, and I thank you for that. Right now I am bringing the concern of __________________________ (fill in the blank). Please give me peace in exchange for panic. I love and praise you, as I know that I am victorious in you. In the name of Jesus, Amen. 

If you haven’t already, I invite you to check out my new book, “A Glimpse of Our Father: Lessons Parenthood Reveals for All of God’s Children,” for more inspiration and encouragement.

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