Just wanted to go on record and thank God for stress! I’ve been spending a lot of time in prayer the last few weeks. And the reason is simple: stress. Without the stress, I don’t think I’d be praying as much as I am.

I really think prayer is emotional judo.

I love The Message Translation of Philippians 4:6–”shape your worries into prayers.” You’ve got to take the negative emotions of guilt or jealousy or fear or anxiety and turn them into positive prayers. In a sense, prayer is channeling our emotions to God.
I’ve always thought that people with the most emotional problems have the most prayer potential. I don’t say that flippantly. And I’m not advocating emotional problems. But negative emotions are prayer fuel. If you wrestle with jealousy you need to pray for that person! And it’ll transform the way you see them and treat them! Same with anxiety. Pray for that situation and it turns your anxiety into a sense of destiny. Guilt causes us to repent and then fills us with gratitude for the grace of God.

Prayer is spiritual jujitsu.