There’s so much going on in the world today, not just in our everyday life, but in the bigger picture. It can be a time when we feel helpless or overwhelmed. How do we deal with the cares of the world? Through prayer.

In Matthew Chapter 6, the disciples asked Jesus to teach them how to pray.  Jesus replied,

“This, then, is how you should pray:

“‘Our Father in heaven, hallowed be your name,
your kingdom come, your will be done,
    on earth as it is in heaven.
Give us today our daily bread.
And forgive us our debts,
    as we also have forgiven our debtors.
And lead us not into temptation,
    but deliver us from the evil one.’

We know this prayer is a model of how we should approach our Father in heaven. But Jesus didn’t stop there. He continues in Matthew Chapter 6,

“Therefore I tell you, do not worry about your life, what you will eat or drink; or about your body, what you will wear. Is not life more than food, and the body more than clothes? Look at the birds of the air; they do not sow or reap or store away in barns, and yet your heavenly Father feeds them. Are you not much more valuable than they? Can any one of you by worrying add a single hour to your life?

“And why do you worry about clothes? See how the flowers of the field grow. They do not labor or spin. Yet I tell you that not even Solomon in all his splendor was dressed like one of these. If that is how God clothes the grass of the field, which is here today and tomorrow is thrown into the fire, will he not much more clothe you—you of little faith? So do not worry, saying, ‘What shall we eat?’ or ‘What shall we drink?’ or ‘What shall we wear?’ For the pagans run after all these things, and your heavenly Father knows that you need them. But seek first his kingdom and his righteousness, and all these things will be given to you as well. Therefore, do not worry about tomorrow, for tomorrow will worry about itself. Each day has enough trouble of its own.”

I often have to ask myself, why do I let things bother me, especially when I have no control over them? I can’t solve world events. I can’t tell the government how to be run in a Godly fashion. I can’t stop my family members from becoming ill. But the one thing I can do is get on my knees and talk to Jesus.

Jesus makes it clear that he expects us to come to Him. He wants us to lay our burdens at His feet. In John Chapter 14, Jesus says,

And I will do whatever you ask in my name, so that the Father may be glorified in the Son. You may ask me for anything in my name, and I will do it.

From the smallest concern to the heaviest load we carry in our heart, Jesus is there for us. My hope for today is that we remember how much Jesus loves us. That no matter what is going on in our lives, we can talk to Him. I know that when I take the time to pour out my heart in prayer, I feel so much lighter and experience a sense of peace. Then the world doesn’t seem so hopeless and dark, and I remember that God is our good God.

Tara Randel is an award-winning, USA Today bestselling author. Family values, a bit of mystery and of course, love and romance, are her favorite themes, because she believes love is the greatest gift of all. For more information about her books, visit Tara at www.tararandel.com. Like her on Facebook at http://www.facebook.com/TaraRandelBooks. Sign up for Tara’s Newsletter.