Just Ask!

<p>The gleeful shouts arising from our basement came from my wife, Shirley. For hours she&rsquo;d wrestled with a newsletter project, and she was ready to be done with it. In her anxiety and uncertainty about how to move forward, she prayed for God&rsquo;s help. She also reached out to Facebook friends and soon the project was completed&mdash;a team effort.</p> <p>While a newsletter project is a little thing in life, small (and not so small) things can bring about worry or anxiousness. Perhaps you&rsquo;re a parent walking through the stages of childrearing for the first time; a student facing newfound academic challenges; a person grieving the loss of a loved one; or someone experiencing a home, work, or ministry challenge. Sometimes we&rsquo;re needlessly on edge because we don&rsquo;t ask God for help (James 4:2).</p> <p>Paul pointed the followers of Jesus in Philippi&mdash;and us&mdash;to our first line of defense in times of need: &ldquo;Do not be anxious about anything,&nbsp;but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God&rdquo; (Philippians 4:6). When life gets complicated, we need reminders like the one from the hymn &ldquo;What a Friend We Have in Jesus&rdquo;: <em>Oh what peace we often forfeit, oh what needless pain we bear, all because we do not carry, everything to God in prayer.</em></p> <p>And perhaps in our asking God for help, He&rsquo;ll lead us to ask people who can assist us.</p>