My Fears Didn't Materialize

I've noticed that I've recently been asking people to pray for things that at the time seem very important to me, and they are, however they are usually self-made fears.

I won't give any specifics, this is a public forum, but like many people, I have an active imagination. Often, it runs away with itself and the result is a scenario that simply isn't good.

So I pray, I ask others to pray, and then I move forward with fear, but with hope.

And lately, my fears have been completely unfounded.

It seems that the "worst" I can imagine in my mind, that which I fear the most, is rarely the reality once I experience the event.

I know I'm not alone, because a great man, Bob Goff (@BobGoff on Twitter), recently Tweeted, "Most of the things I've been afraid of haven't happened ..."

I'd like to attribute much of the fact my fears were not realized to the power of prayer. I truly believe in the power of prayer and know that it has positively impacted my life.

Yet, as strong as prayer is, I also realize that my overly active imagination has far too often caused me angst.

It is hard to live a life of total dependence on God. I so often reach over to grab the wheel for myself; taking back control of my life. It is in those moments that my fears heighten and my anxiety is "off the hook" so to speak.

Once I'm through the situation, however, and I can look back; so often in those moments I find how irrational my fears had been.

Does prayer work ... certainly!

But wouldn't my life be so much better if instead of trying to take control myself, instead of allowing an overactive imagination to run wild, instead of living with a lack of trust in God AND then praying; I simply allowed God control and prayed more prayers of thanksgiving and fewer prayers of petition?

I look forward to the day I spend most of my prayer life thanking God for the abundance He continues to provide and less time petitioning Him to help me out in some "self made" crisis ... a crisis that in hindsight really isn't a crisis.

So God, thank you that most of the things I fear didn't happen. For that I am truly grateful!