Ever felt overwhelmed by emotions? How we feel is often determined by the thoughts we’re having. So to change our feelings, we must go to the source and deal with the thing that produced them – how we think. For example, worried people tend to think anxious thoughts, and eventually those thoughts become so automatic that they stop noticing and learn to live with it. Or negative people usually feel down about things because their mind has started to automatically think pessimistically about everything. Our thought patterns become as much of a habit as checking our phones. We get so accustomed to thinking certain thoughts that they become our default setting.. But if we want to change our lives, we must change the way we think. God knows exactly what each one of us is thinking. David exclaimed: Lord, you have examined me and know all about me. You know when I sit down and when I get up. You know my thoughts before I think them. You know where I go and where I lie down. You know everything I do. Lord, even before I say a word, you already know it’ (Psalm 139:1-4 NCV). God can help us become aware of what’s going on in our minds from one moment to the next. David prayed, ‘Test me and know my anxious thoughts’ (Psalm 139:23 NIV). He was asking God to show him where he was going wrong in his thinking. And we can ask God to do that for us too. God will direct us to where our thought patterns are wrong and help us deal with them. Not only will He show us how to remove wrong thoughts, but also how to replace them with the right ones by setting our minds on ‘what the Spirit desires’ (Romans 8:5 NIV).

What Now?

Pray the prayer of David today: ‘Test me and know my anxious thoughts’. Then ask God to help you deal with any anxious thoughts that He shows you.