I Peter 5:7 Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.
Prayer is More Than Sharing
What do you care about? Some people care about their future. Some people care about their kids. Some people care about their work. Some people care about their church. I am grateful for people who care because we live in a world of apathetic people who don’t seem to care about anything.
But anyone who is capable of caring is also capable of being overwhelmed by care. They are capable of being care-filled or careful which is another way of saying they are capable of being anxious. That is something against which the Bible warns us.
I Peter 5:7 says, “Casting all your care upon him; for he careth for you.” So what do we care about? We care about money. We care about problems. We care about the future. We care about decisions. What does God care about? God cares about you. Here is the wonderful truth: God cares about me so I don’t need to worry about things. And He wants us to give Him all of our care, not just some of it.
We need to remember that prayer is no more sharing your cares with God than surrender is sharing your life with God. God doesn’t want you to share your life with Him; He wants you to surrender your life to Him. When I pray, I am not merely sharing my cares with God; I am casting them upon Him.
What a contrast between the gentle way with which God gives us His help, and the abrupt way that we cast or fling our cares to Him. Sometimes we are in desperation like a person looking for a life buoy or a parachute. “God, help!” we say. We throw our cares at Him, and God gently, carefully, and with strong arms gives the care we need.
We care about things. God cares about us. Prayer is not sharing our lives with God any more than we are to share our future with God. Our prayers are to be a complete surrender of the things that worry us.