Mental health and christianity part 6: Prayer

Hey everyone, for the final part of this mental health series, I’ll be discussing prayer, as it’s an essential component of taking care of your mental health. After all, prayer keeps you focused on Christ and is God’s way of communicating with you, which is what I’ll be discussing in this week’s blog post. Philippians 4:6 (NIV) says, “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God.”” Just like I mentioned earlier, prayer keeps us focused on Christ. When life becomes hard, it’s easy to forget that God is always with us. But when we stay connected through prayer, we’re reminded that we are never alone. Because of that truth, we don’t have to live in anxiety — we can place every worry, fear, and need into God’s hands with gratitude and trust.

 Prayer doesn’t remove every problem instantly, but it changes how we walk through them. Instead of carrying the weight alone, we invite God into every situation. When we pray, we exchange our stress for His peace, our confusion for His guidance, and our fear for His comfort. God already knows what we’re facing, but He desires a relationship with us. Prayer is not just asking — it’s trusting, listening, and surrendering. It’s choosing faith over panic and hope over worry. When anxiety tries to creep in, prayer reminds us who is in control. It lifts our eyes off the storm and places them back on the Savior. And as we continue to seek Him with thankful hearts, His peace — the kind that doesn’t make sense to the world — will guard our hearts and minds in Christ Jesus.

Prayer can also help when you’re going through a season when everything feels like it’s changing all at once. That’s something I’ve been dealing with through different things happening in my own life. Which change can be good, but it can also be scary at times, not knowing what’s going to happen. When that does happen, sometimes the best thing you can do is just breathe and talk to God about what’s happening. When you are going through life changes, there are three main things that you need to keep in mind: 1. God is always in control. 2. Always have courage and 3. Keep prayer and God as top priority in your life. Joshua 1:9 (NIV) says,” Have I not commanded you? Be strong and courageous. Do not be afraid; do not be discouraged, for the Lord your God will be with you wherever you go.” Did you catch that? Be strong and courageous! Just like I said before, one of the three things you need to keep in mind when life is changing is to have courage. TThat’sexactly what this verse is about: God is with you no matter where you go. Even when life is overwhelming, courage and prayer come into play. Because life can be crazy, take this past week for example, my Mom and I went to South Carolina to help with family 2 of whom haven’t been doing so well. One of whom, my grandmother, went home to Jesus this past week, which is why I’ve been quiet on Facebook. Because it’s been hard, and I just haven’t said much these past few days. TThat’sthe thing with both grief and mental health, both of which are common in life, because with mental health, that has to do with how yyou’redoing in your mind, whether yyou’renot doing so well or yyou’rein a good mood. With grief, it honestly depends on your mindset on how you handle a loved oone’spassing away. John 16:22 (NIV) says, “So with you: Now is your time of grief, but I will see you again, and you will rejoice, and no one will take away your joy.””In life, there’s a season for everything, and that’s part of what this verse is talking about: when someone passes away, there is a grieving period. However, if the person is a believer, then you will see them again in heaven someday. One thing about grieving that I’ve learned in my own life is that it takes many forms. For some, it can involve being depressed for a period. That’s something I’ve noticed in a few people in my own life. Or if you’re like me, it can involve just being quiet for a while and kinda observing, but also keeping in mind that you will see that person again someday. There have been a few times in my mind that I’ve asked God to help the person I’ve noticed is having a hard time with what’s happened. 

That’s the thing about prayer: it comes in all shapes and forms, whether it’s out loud or in your mind. God hears you no matter how you pray, and that part is totally up to you.  

Mark 11:24 (NIV) says, “Therefore I tell you, whatever you ask for in prayer, believe that you have received it, and it will be yours.””One thing about prayer is that when you believe with your whole heart that it happen for example if your believing that a loved one will come to Christ it will happen and tthat’swhat this verse is talking about because the thing with prayer is that it’s always private unless you decide to speak to someone about what you’ve been praying about whether it be about a loved one that ddoesn’tbelieve in Christ or about what your praying about doing with your life which tthat’ssomething that II’vebeen praying about and thinking about since I was 15 years old a little over 10 years ago.

As I close this blog post and series, I want to challenge you to ask God what he wants you to do with your life and ask who he wants you to pray for. As always, if you ever need to talk, have any questions, or have prayer requests, feel free to comment below, email me at homeschoolgradblog@gmail.com, or message me on my Facebook page called Faithful. Thanks for reading!