What Should I Do When I Feel Afraid?

What can you do when fear takes hold? In today’s episode, Stormie shares practical, Spirit-led actions you can take the moment fear arises. Through bold declarations of Scripture and powerful prayer, you’ll learn how to take every thought captive, replace lies with God’s truth, and focus your mind on what is pure and peace giving. Whether you face overwhelming anxiety or quiet internal dread, these biblical tactics will help you walk in victory one prayer at a time.

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Transcript

SPEAKER_00 0:00

Welcome to the Stormy Omardian Podcast, where we explore the power of prayer to change lives, strengthen faith, and deepen relationships. This episode reveals what you can do the moment fear tries to take over. Take comfort as Stormy guides you through scripture-based prayers and strategies to shift your thoughts, speak truth boldly, and walk in God's peace and strength.

SPEAKER_01 0:30

Hi, I'm Stormy O'Mardian. Welcome to the Power of Praying. Today I'm talking about my book, The Power of Praying Through Fear. This is episode three. What should I do when I feel afraid? Now there are many things you can do when you feel afraid, but keep in mind you don't have to do them all at the same time. But you can keep them in your heart and be ready to put them into practice as you feel led by the Holy Spirit. It will make a big difference in the level of peace you experience. I have suggested a number of them in my book, The Power of Praying Through Fear, but I want to give you several of them now. For example, this is one I use every time I feel afraid, and it is about bringing every thought into captivity. It's about the truth setting us free. Our thoughts can be a major burden when we have too many of them on our mind. If we have any kind of fearful thoughts, that makes it worse. Think about every thought you have that's troubling to you. Ask God to show you how you can replace that thought with his truth. In my book, this section is called Say Boldly and Pray Powerfully. So say boldly this scripture from 2 Corinthians 10, 4. For the weapons of our warfare are not carnal, but mighty in God for pulling down strongholds, bringing every thought into captivity to the obedience of Christ. Doing this every time you feel afraid is powerful. Whenever you proclaim this entire scripture from your Bible or from my book, you are taking charge of your fear. Once you decide that truth from God's Word, pray it powerfully like this. Say, Lord, I bring every negative and upsetting thought I have to you. Help me to hold each captive in obedience to your ways. Enable me to pull down any strongholds of fear that have been erected in my mind. I submit my mind to you, Lord, and I refuse to allow any fearful thoughts to weaken me. Another example of replacing fear thoughts with God's truth, to trust in God and not your fear. God knows more than we do. He's been around longer than we have. Actually, he's always been around. And he knows everything. It's safe to trust his all-knowingness instead of our limited knowledge. So say boldly, Psalm 34, 8, O taste and see that the Lord is good. Blessed is the man who trusts in him. Pray powerfully to God, saying, Lord, I vow to trust you with all my heart, and not listen to the voice of my fear. I bring every fear I have to you. Show me steps I can take to prove my trust and your goodness toward me, and help me to take those steps every day. And another example of what you can do each day is to deliberately focus your mind on good things. God always knows what we are thinking. That's because he looks on our heart. Psalm 94.11 says, the Lord knows the thoughts of man, that they are futile. So say boldly, Philippians 4.8, whatever things are true, whatever things are noble, whatever things are just, whatever things are pure, whatever things are lovely, whatever things are of good report, if there is any virtue, and if there is anything praiseworthy, meditate on these things. Then pray powerfully, saying, Lord, help me to focus my mind on you and your word. Teach me to think about things that are true, honest, just, pure, lovely, good news, virtuous, and worthy of praise. Teach me how to fill my mind with these things. There are many more of these in the book, The Power of Praying Through Fear, that will help you turn things around in your thought process. It can make a big difference in your life. Jesus describes Satan as his enemy, and God's enemy is our enemy. That's because God's enemy hates anyone who believes in Jesus and worships the one true God. Those who do the bidding of this enemy hate us as well. Extreme fear will always be one of the main tactics of the enemy. He will use evil means to promote fear and will do anything to make us afraid. Our fear is the enemy's victory. Peace and freedom from fear will always be the gift God gives us. God does not want us to live in fear because fear can destroy us. David prayed in Psalm 64:1, Oh God, preserve my life from fear of the enemy. If we're not aware that we have an enemy and who that enemy is and what his tactics are, we will be manipulated, lied to, robbed, taken advantage of, and eventually witness his plans for our destruction as they manifest in our lives. One of the reasons Jesus came to earth was to destroy the works of the enemy. It says in 1 John 3:8, for this purpose the Son of God was manifested that he might destroy the works of the enemy. Jesus gave us a way to take back everything the enemy has stolen from us. In order to do that, we need to identify and be aware of the enemy's fear tactics and have some tactics of our own to resist him. The enemy wants to steal from you. He will rob you of your hope, your peace, and your faith in God if he is allowed to do so. He wants you to constantly live in fear. Something of our life is always stolen from us when we are afraid. And when we are fearful, we let good opportunities slip by. We don't do things we need to do and we do things we shouldn't do. Fear not only robs us of our joy, but it also robs us of our sleep and sense of well-being. Jesus said of our enemy in John 10:10, the thief does not come except to steal and to kill and to destroy. I have come that they may have life and that they may have it more abundantly. The enemy will devise ways to kill everything about you. He will try to kill your body, mind, marriage, aspirations, relationships, sense of purpose, and much more. The enemy not only wants us dead, unless, of course, we can be used by him for his purposes, he also wants the same for our children. Keep that in mind and resist all enemy attacks on any part of your life or your family by boldly declaring the Word of God. The enemy wants to destroy everything good in your life. He will try to destroy your health, family, work, finances, reputation, and love of God. Too many believers are being knocked around by the enemy of their soul and their life because they think bad things just happened to them. And that's the way life is. So they are not actively engaged against the enemy, and as a result, are totally unprepared to face his opposition. Did you know you can have a mind devoured by fear? Devour means to swallow up ravenously. That's how the enemy works. You may feel as if some parts of your life, or perhaps everything in your life, is being swallowed up, such as your finances, the results of all your hard work, your sense of purpose, your gifts, and your direction. This can make you feel as if all energy, motivation, and sense of purpose, and anything else that sustains life and causes it to be worth living is being eaten away because of fear, even to the point of draining your faith and commitment to the Lord. If you feel that way, just know that you can put a stop to that and erect an invisible barrier against the enemy's attempts to devour your life. The Bible says, be sober, be vigilant, because your adversary, the devil, walks about like a roaring lion, seeking whom he may devour. That's from 1 Peter 5:8. We need to think clearly about what the enemy wants to devour of our life and be vigilant in prayer, asking God to put a stop to it. We are instructed in the Bible to take God's kingdom by force. Part of that has to do with declaring the truth boldly, praying powerfully to God, and taking back what the enemy has devoured. The enemy's greatest ploy is to blind people to the truth and deceive them with lies. The enemy can do anything he wants to to those who believe him and not God. That's why we must gain a solid knowledge of God's truth. When we cannot distinguish between God's truth and a lie of the enemy, we are in trouble. The enemy is not everywhere. He can only be where there is an opening for him. The enemy doesn't know everything, and he doesn't know what you think. He only knows what you say. So watch out what you say. If you say, I hate my life and I don't want to live anymore, the enemy will help you get what you say you want. Or if you say, I know I can do all things through Christ who strengthens me, and God will enable me to live the life He has for me because I pray in Jesus' name. Then the enemy is powerless against your prayers and can do nothing. The enemy is not even close to being as powerful as God. Only God is everywhere and all powerful. Keep that firmly in your mind. What a wonderful gift that we can know the truth that sets us free and reject the lies of the enemy that cause doubt. People who themselves tell lies give a piece of their heart to the enemy every time they do so. We must decide to be people of the truth. That means believing and speaking only the truth, nothing less. Jesus said of Satan, he was a murderer from the beginning and does not stand in the truth. Because there is no truth in him. When he speaks a lie, he speaks from his own resources, for he is a liar and the father of it. That's from John 8 44. Don't align yourself with the father of lies. Align yourself with the father of lights and his Holy Spirit of truth. That's from James 1.17. There is a great deal of fear in the heart of many people because of the ever-visible, overwhelming force of the horrendous plans of the enemy being carried out because of lies believed by the deceived who do his bidding. But Isaiah 54, 14 says to those who are believers in the one true God, In righteousness you shall be established. You shall be far from oppression, for you shall not fear, and from terror, for it shall not come near you. Determined to rely on the truth that sets you free and not the lies that cause destruction. Our focus must be on God and not our enemy. But that doesn't mean we ignore the enemy and pretend like we don't have one. That would reveal our ignorance and lack of knowledge of God's truth. The enemy loves it when we are clueless. In order to combat his tactics, we need to have unfailing tactics of our own. There are tactics we cannot neglect to do. As a believer, you are already involved in spiritual warfare, whether you realize it or not. You may think that some of the difficult things that happen to you or to others or that are evident in situations in the world around you are just the way life is and beyond your ability to do anything to affect them. But the situation is far more sinister than that. It's the result of planning by the enemy. You may believe you're not in any war, but you are. Even if you have not yet received Jesus, you are still in the war. It's just that you are unaware of all that, and therefore have no control over the things that happen to you. You could be suffering with frequently reoccurring problems such as repeated illnesses, accidents, financial struggles, relationship problems, or whatever else. And you may think it's just bad luck, but it's not. It's the enemy of your soul that you don't know you have, and you don't realize your foundation has been built on sand instead of the rock. We cannot afford the luxury of foolishly thinking, if I don't acknowledge that I have an enemy, then I won't ever have to engage with the enemy. The truth is the enemy has a plan for your life, and so does God. God gives you a free will and allows you to choose his plan in your life or not. Your choice determines your future. Some people believe if they never acknowledge that the enemy exists, and especially if they don't allow for the fact that God's enemy is their enemy as well, then they can stay out of the war completely. But those who deny the spiritual war that is happening until the Lord returns are destined to lose it. Even believers who do understand the enemy's warfare against us often think that when they contend in prayer for the will of the Lord to prevail in a specific battle, that once the battle is won, the war is over. But the war is never over because the enemy never relents in his warfare against you. If we realize we are already in the war, we will be more able to stand strongly against the enemy in prayer. When Jesus died on the cross, he assured us of our victory over the enemy. But we still must wage the battle in prayer. Prayer is our actual battle. Our battlefield is our prayer closet or wherever we are praying. Prayer and God's word are our first lines of defense in the battle against our enemy. Departing from evil means once you recognize you are in a spiritual war between God and his enemy, then you do all you can to make sure you are not giving the enemy any ground in your life. Departing from evil means you walk with and live for God and not the world's idols. The Bible says that the fear of the Lord shows wisdom, and departing from evil shows understanding. People who do not have fear and reverence of God have no godly wisdom or understanding. People without the wisdom and understanding that come from God can easily allow some form of evil into their life, where if they were completely sold out to God, they wouldn't. Jesus said, All authority has been given to me in heaven and on earth. That's from Matthew 28, 18. He also said, He has given us authority over all the power of the enemy. That's Luke 10, 19. Because you have received Jesus and have his spirit in your heart, your prayers have power in Jesus' name. Jesus is mighty in you because his spirit is in you. It says of Jesus that though he was crucified in weakness, yet he lives by the power of God. For we also are weak in him, but we shall live with him by the power of God. That's 2 Corinthians 13, 4. We may feel weak, but this is not about us. It's about him. He's powerful and his spirit is in us. It's a done deal. Do you ever wonder how you, as a believer, can see God's truth so clearly? But there are those who cannot see it at all. It happens because at some point in time they chose to reject God's truth and believe a lie that they wanted to believe. So they were given over to deceiving spirits of the enemy. This is not just a temporary condition until they come to their senses. This is a major stronghold that will take major deliverance by the deliverer, requiring great awakening, repentance, and confession on the part of the deceived. See 1 Timothy 4, 1 and 2. Pray with me about this. Lord, help me to do the things I need to do in my life so that whenever I feel afraid, I will have a strong foundation in you already established. I commit my life to you and everything in it. I praise you and thank you for who you are and for all you have done for me. Help me to keep my mind focused on good things and not negative and frightening things. Help me to always walk in your ways and keep your laws and commandments. Keep me from doing anything that compromises my walk with you. Help me to think of how much you love me. I choose to trust in you and walk your way. Show me what I need to do to keep fear away from my life. Help me to build my life on the strength of my relationship with you and upon the solid rock of your word. Protect me from every lie of the enemy, so that I am never swayed from your truth. Reveal to me any lies I have accepted as truth. Help me to depart from evil and never drift away from your truth. I know that though an army may encamp against me, my heart shall not fear, because you are with me. Enable me to always hear the voice of your Holy Spirit, leading me to pray and empowering me to stand strong against the enemy. Show me where my prayer is most needed for myself, my family, and the people and situations you put on my heart. Help me to not think of prayer as merely asking you to fix things, but rather as the way to do battle and take dominion over the works of darkness as you have said to do. Thank you for giving me authority to pray in your name, Jesus, and to know you hear and will answer my prayers according to your will. Help me to use the authority you have given me in prayer to advance your kingdom on earth. In Jesus' name I pray. So be careful to never allow your heart to drift away from the things of God, because it surely will. We're all like that. Our nature is selfish. We drift toward self-focus and away from self-sacrifice unless we deliberately focus on God every day. Hebrews 2.1 says we must give the more earnest heed to the things we have heard lest we drift away. There is now and always will be countless things to distract you. Be prepared by keeping God's word in your heart and pray about everything, especially whatever makes you afraid.

SPEAKER_00 21:06

Thanks for joining us. Next week, we'll explore one of the deepest fears many people carry the fear of death, and discover how God's truth replaces dread with peace and hope. You'll hear how knowing where you're going for eternity can completely change how you live today.