Relief for Worry: All-purpose Prayer, Petition, and Advice
by Pastor Walter Snyder

Q: Dear Pastor, I'm concerned about _______; I'm tempted to _______; I sinned against
_______; I can't cope with _______. How do I deal with the situation and how can I stop
my worrying about it?

A: Dear friends, recently, I was praying the Lord's Prayer and thinking about circumstances and
events here and around the world. The U.S. is under a "Condition Orange" terrorist alert. Jobs are
scarce. Money is tight. The U.S. and global economies stink. Oil (and gasoline) prices are higher.
Families are stressed. Husbands and wives are betraying each other and their marriage vows.
Children dishonor their parents. Crime, violence, sickness, suffering, and death are everywhere.

The Seventh Petition of the Lord's Prayer says, *"Deliver us from evil."* I especially recalled the
Small Catechism's explanation of this petition: "We pray in this petition, in summary, that our
Father in heaven would rescue us from every evil of body and soul, possessions and reputation,
and finally, when our last hour comes, give us a blessed end, and graciously take us from this
valley of sorrow to Himself in heaven."

*"In summary"* "deliver us from evil" ~is~ the Lord's Prayer in brief. God's name, God's
kingdom, God's will, our daily bread, God's forgiveness, and God's leadership all are good. A
lack of them is evil. So after we pray for the good God gives, we pray again, "Don't let these
wonderful gifts be taken away, dear Father." Everything "in summary" we ask our Father is,
"Deliver us from evil."

"Deliver us from _______." You could take any of the problems I've listed or any more worries
you have and insert them in the "_____" I've created in this petition. People keep asking, "What
can I do about my worries?" I keep answering, "You can't do anything, so give them to the One
who can."

This stanza of the hymn "Our Father, Who, from Heaven Above" reenforces our understanding of
God's special delivery: "Deliver us from evil days, From ev'ry dark and trying maze; Redeem us
from eternal death, Console us when we yield our breath. Give us at last a blessed end; Receive
our souls, O faithful Friend."

Both the problem and our worries are, ultimately, God's responsibility. If we insist on dealing
with them ourselves, we get in the way of Him who wishes to free us from all evil.

This doesn't mean that we always sit and wait; often God uses us as the instruments for dealing
with personal, familial, or societal evils. But He desires first to prepare us through His Word and
Holy Spirit and to focus us on what we are able to do, rather than have us worry about what is
beyond our control.

Each Wednesday, I visit with our Lutheran school children. We discuss various religious topics.
As we considered this petition, all of them, from kindergarten through eighth grade, agreed that
the greatest evil is death. Yet even death this greatest earthly evil is also our delivery from
evil. Through death, God gives us life: First, Christ died to forgive sins. Then, in Baptism we died
in Him to our own sins. Finally, when we die, we continue in life everlasting as this world's
greatest evil ushers in eternity's greatest good!

I heard a television report saying that calls to mental health hotlines increased after the terror
warning was heightened. One woman lamented, "I'm afraid that I've lost all control over my
future." Her complaint is the Christian's celebration: "I have no control over my future!" What
greater good is there than having God rather than you and I determine what will happen and how
we'll survive and cope? God invites us not to have him as "co-pilot" but as Captain of our ship
and divine Navigator through life's perils.

Each situation is unique. So is each person. Thus, I cannot say that _______ is always the correct
response to _______. However, whenever doubt, worry, or guilt are involved, only God can
deliver you from _______. Whether He uses you or other means, the Lord takes care of _______
as He takes care of you. God be with you and your family, in Christ delivering you from every evil
of body and soul, possessions and reputation.

Ask the Pastor, © 2003 by Walter P. Snyder. It may be reproduced in totality, including this
disclaimer, by anyone, provided that no profit is generated by said republication and
redistribution. Translations into other languages should similarly note the United States
and any appropriate international copyrights, as well as God's Scriptural injunctions
concerning the property of others.