Today we have a guest post from Annie, a young author! I hope that you enjoy her thoughts about overcoming anxiety and when you’re done, don’t forget to visit her blog to read my interview with her!

I remember staring at a red alarm clock night after night. I hadn’t fallen asleep yet and it was one in the morning. This wasn’t something unordinary, in fact, it happened pretty much every night of my life for fourteen years. I was diagnosed with severe anxiety at age five, and fear seemed to always grip my heart, wherever I was…yes, even at night. At age thirteen I especially felt broken. I was almost to the point where I couldn’t leave my home, my anxiety was so debilitating. I had gone to many doctors, read countless books, and even tried natural ways to try and calm myself down, but nothing worked. I tried all of those “methods” to overcoming my anxiety on my own, but it didn’t work.  In fact, it just grew worse and worse. Can you relate? I finally decided to try something that deep in my heart, God was calling me to do: open up His Word. By doing that, I eventually came to the conclusion of the best way to overcome anxiety. No, not the various books, and other methods I had tried again and again, but God’s Word. I learned the best tools to overcoming anxiety were studying, memorizing and praying over God’s Word.In the next few minutes, I will discuss these three key tools and why they are better than any other methods to overcoming fear.

At that point in my life, when I was thirteen, the only option left was medication for anxiety…so I thought! Honestly, I was always really wary of this due to all of the side effects, and never wanted that for myself, even though many doctors thought it would be a good idea. (And sometimes it IS necessary.) So, I didn’t take it. Instead, I tried studying God’s Word. Yes, I was saved at a young age, but never made that effort to study His Word. I just never seemed to get past those “feel-good” such as “praise God” verses in Psalms. So when I opened up my Bible, it was practically a whole new world for me. So why is the Bible so much more powerful than any other book that I read? All those books were fine, but not effective. What is so significant about the Bible? As it says in Hebrews, God’s Word is LIVING and is sharper than any two-edged sword. Um, did you hear that? Don’t worry, I won’t quiz you.

When I actually started digging deeper into His Word, and trusted Him, God revealed really amazing things to me, and they truly helped me get through my anxiety. One of the first passages He revealed to me was Proverbs 3:5-6, which still remains my favorite verse today. Summarizing, it says to trust God. And that is what I did. You know what, by studying my Bible, I learned so many things, and was able to fight anxiety, because truly, anxiety is just Satan’s way of trying to persuade you to follow his ways instead of God’s ways. Satan is afraid of God, for “at the name of Jesus he flees.” When Jesus was tempted, He used God’s Word to fight Satan. Studying God’s Word is powerful.

I found prayer was way more powerful than any “meditation” that was mentioned in practically every anxiety cure book I read. They always read something like “think about something wonderful.” Yet, when we pray, we are praying to the most Wonderful King alive. No brainer, right? God speaks powerfully through prayer. I can’t count how many times I’ve finished a prayer and felt a clear direction. God gave you anxiety for a reason. Talk to Him and ask Him to reveal the gems of wisdom He wants you to learn through having anxiety. Go for praying instead of meditation, it is way more powerful for overcoming anxiety!

Overall, God’s Word is the best tool. It’s not like any other book, but is full of critical information on how to fight anxiety (which, as I mentioned before, is temptation from Satan.) Through studying His Word, you will be able to uncover precious gems of wisdom He wants you to learn. After memorizing His Word, God will remind you of a verse in perfect timing, when faced with fear, and through prayer, you will be able to learn more about why God gave you anxiety, and how to fight it. Please don’t turn to the books with methods on how to fight anxiety alone. Turn to God and His wonderful Word. Trust me, you will be amazed. It is the most effective tool.