Return, My Soul, to Your Rest--A New Year's Prayer

“Return, my soul, to your rest;
      the Lord has been very good to you.”

                -Psalm 116.7 (NABRE)

As the New Year begins, I have started to be more diligent than ever to guard my mind from worry and anxiety. There will always be more than enough issues of life offering stress; I simply want to decline that offer on a daily basis. In reality, I need to refuse stress and anxiety pretty well every hour!

A few months ago when I was doing my daily Scripture reading, Psalm 116.7 jumped out at me as never before. The Psalmist speaks to himself with the exhortation: Return, my soul, to your rest! Why? My soul can be at peace because God—in his goodness, power and providence—has been so good to me. I need to remind myself of this!

Toward that end, here is a prayer that I’ll be praying in the months ahead.

Return, My Soul, to your Rest

Gracious Lord, like Martha in the Gospels,

                I have become anxious about so many things.

     Projects to do, problems to solve, and people to serve—

                everything to be done is overwhelming!

Inside I am scattered, disquieted, unsettled;

                my thoughts dart about in my head.

     I’m afraid of missing opportunities or losing what I have;

                worry fills my heart more than I dare to admit.

Return, my soul, to your rest;

                leave behind your anxious thoughts and cares.

     The Lord has been so kind to you,

            providing for all that you need.

Be at peace, O my heart, in God’s goodness,

providing your needs and caring for you.

     Dwell secure in his power and protection,

surrounding and guarding you in all your ways.

Be at rest, O my thoughts, free from all worries

that distract you and weigh you down,

     For God has gone before you and prepared the way,

which will be opened to you in his time.

© 2015  Glenn E. Myers