Loosen Your Grip

SCRIPTURE
- Philippians 4:7    
“And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”  

REFLECTION
- Teresa - Our Newest Reflector

MUSIC
- "Perfection" by The Mountain
- "Purpose" by Jonny Easton

NOTES
-

PRAYER OF LETTING GO
To You do I belong, O God,
into Your hands I surrender my life.
Pour out Your Spirit upon me
that I may love You perfectly,
and serve You faithfully
until my soul rests in You.

Transcript

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SPEAKER_02 0:29

Hello, and welcome to prayer. There are some scripture verses that seem to find us exactly when we need them. Maybe we've heard them dozens of times, but suddenly the words land differently. Today we welcome a new voice to the God Minute. Although she's been a part of the Vincentian family for many years, Teresa Manna joins us for her very first reflection, sharing a beautiful verse from St. Paul's letter to the Philippians. So let's open ourselves to God's word. Let us pray. In the name of the Father, and of the Son, and of the Holy Spirit. Amen. O Lord, open my lips, and my mouth shall declare your praise.

SPEAKER_01 1:30

You have touched my heart with love.

SPEAKER_00 1:36

I have found shelter in the shadow of your wings. When I am troubled, I turn to you.

SPEAKER_01 1:45

My heart is firmly fixed on you, O God. I will sing, I will compose a song.

SPEAKER_00 1:56

Wake up my spirit, awake my instruments. I myself will awaken the morning.

SPEAKER_01 2:06

I will sing of the love I have known, I will sing of the touch that makes all things new.

SPEAKER_00 2:16

Glory be to the Father, the Son, and the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_01 2:21

As it was in the beginning, is now, and will be forever. Amen.

SPEAKER_04 2:46

Philippians chapter four, verse seven. And the peace of God, which surpasses all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Jesus Christ. The word of the Lord. Doesn't that sound great? The peace of God settling into our hearts and minds, even in the midst of anxiety and concern. Who doesn't want that? But of course it begs the question how? It sounds wonderful, yes. But how can I experience that gift of peace from my own heart and mind? Well, don't fret, because in the verse before the one today in Philippians, St. Paul tells us how. He says, Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition with thanksgiving, present your request to God. And then today's verse, the peace of God will guard your heart and mind in Jesus. That's how prayer and thanksgiving. When we surrender our worries and anxieties to Jesus, we allow his peace to surround us. When we give it all to Jesus, we are not left alone to defend our mind against intrusive thoughts or panic. As I'm sure you know, when we're dealing with difficult situations, it's easy to allow panic to take over our thoughts or I experienced this several times recently during my daughter's pregnancy. She was high risk due to a rare autoimmune disease. We had a couple of scares during her pregnancy, and especially when our granddaughter was born. Our sweet baby Josie went to the NICU because she was having trouble breathing and wasn't responding the way the doctors wanted. Of course, I heard this news and I was immediately upset, pacing the floor, and I could just feel the fear begin to infiltrate my spirit. I repeated the simple prayer over and over again. Jesus, I trust in you. Even though I didn't know what was going to happen, my mind stopped playing that what if game. And I was filled with God's peace. Thanks be to God, baby Josie graduated from the NICU the next day. I'm not saying that we just hand everything over to God through prayer and it will automatically work out the way we want. But when we believe that God really hears our prayers and will handle whatever difficult situation we find ourselves in, this creates a calmness within us. It doesn't mean that God will change the storm you are in, but it changes you inside the storm. Today, think about what burdens or fears you are holding on to, and visualize yourself, opening your grip and letting God carry it for you. And in doing so, experience God's peace.

SPEAKER_02 7:25

Allowing God to carry us, we pray. Our Father, who art in heaven, hallowed be thy name, thy kingdom come, thy will be done, on earth as it is in heaven. Give us this day our daily bread, and forgive us our trespasses, as we forgive those who trespass against us, and lead us not into temptation, but deliver us from evil. Amen. Let us pray. God of peace, you know the worries we carry, even the ones we struggle to name. When fear begins to fill the spaces within us, draw us closer to you. Teach us to loosen our grip on what we cannot control and place it into your hands. Guard our hearts and minds with your peace, a peace deeper than circumstances and stronger than our fear. Jesus, we trust in you. We ask this through Christ our Lord.

SPEAKER_03 8:41

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 8:45

To you do I belong, O God. Into your hands I surrender my life. Pour out your Spirit upon me, that I may love you perfectly and serve you faithfully until my soul rests in you. What a beautiful reflection. I have a feeling many of us can relate to that what-if game she described. So thank you, Teresa, for sharing your heart, your family, and sweet baby Josie with us today. And welcome to the God-Minute Family. And may God bless us with his peace in the name of the Father and of the Son and of the Holy Spirit.

SPEAKER_03 9:30

Amen.

SPEAKER_02 9:32

Don't forget, look for Christ in the small things until we pray again tomorrow.