Saying Less - Praying More

Saying less and praying more can be a powerful tool in navigating  workplace relationships.

Sometimes in my professional career an internal angst rises up in me.

The source of agigitation could be an organizational  decision;

the distributing of responsibility, or just plain personality conflicts.

Whatever the trigger point was; in the past, 
I  expended alot of energy talking about it.

I talked about it with my friends. 

I talked about it with my husband. 

Once, I even talked about it with my pastor. 

And with each retelling the problem grew bigger,
and bigger
and BIGGER.  

Until the problem was so enormous
that even the smallest disagreement 
seemed like a world war.

Has anything like that ever happened to you?

You see your manager speaking in hushed tones,
and your imagination whirs wondering if you might be in trouble.

Paranoia? 

Perhaps.   

But in today's volatile economy,
with job loss so rampant,
fear sets in.  

Your heart flutters.

Your palms sweat.

And before you know it you've
 convinced yourself that castastrophe awaits.

Ridiculous right? 

Especially so when the whole thing turns out to be nothing.  

This type of scenario has happened
to me more times thatI care to share.

I have learned that if we are not careful,
our imagination and overactive mouth, can turn  

a small and usually incorrect presumption
into an emotional minefield.

And when that happens, the enemy of our soul
does the happy dance because that was what he was
trying to accomplish in us which was why he planted the
seed of worry or fear or doubt in us to begin with.

I wonder if that's the kind of presumptous sins that the
Psalmist was talking about in Psalm 19:13 that says:

"Keep back thy servant also from presumptuous sins;
let them not have dominion over me: then shall I be upright,
and I shall be innocent from the great transgression."

Maybe we would be able to say less and pray more if
 we should started praying that prayer more often.  

"God, help me not to presume anything.
Teach me to look to YOU the author
and finisher of my faith. To rest in the
comfort that your promises are yea and Amen
and that you will always watch over me
and go before me in any and all of my life situations."

I have learned from my own hard experiences,
that praying more and saying less brings much
more peace, joy and contentment in my life.

What about you?

How do you handle things when life's presumptions come
crashing down on your imagination?

Again, the Holy Bible equips us with
an appropiateresponse to the wild ruminating
we are sometimes prone to:

"Casting down imaginations,
and every high thing that exalteth
itself against the knowledge of God, and
bringing into captivity every thought
 to the obedience of Christ;"
(2 Corinthians 10:5)

I particularly like the way The Message translation
explains the meaning of the above verse:

"The world is unprincipled.
It's dog-eat-dog out there!
The world doesn't fight fair.
 But we don't live or fight our battles that way
—never have and never will.
The tools of our trade aren't for marketing or manipulation,
but they are for demolishing that entire massively corrupt culture.
We use our powerful God-tools for smashing warped philosophies,
tearing down barriers erected against the truth of God,
fitting every loose thought and emotion and
impulse into the structure of life shaped by Christ.
Our tools are ready at hand for clearing the ground
 of every obstruction and building
 lives of obedience into maturity."

What are your 'go to' scriptures when
life's imaginations
threaten to dominate your mind?