As you pay your bills, you get that familiar sinking feeling. Your expenses—groceries, mortgage, car payments, gas, clothes for the kids—add up quickly. Next month we’ll have more wiggle room, you think.

But as you click “submit” on your last bill, you wonder if you’re just kidding yourself. You wonder if you’ll ever stop living paycheck to paycheck. You wonder if you’ll ever be able to afford the life you want to live. And you wonder if you’ll ever pay your bills without a pit in your stomach. Maybe next month.

When your anxiety over your finances feels out of control, where do you turn? How do you find peace?

The next time a pit forms in your stomach, call out to God, the ultimate provider, in prayer. Meditate on his Word. And rely on him to give you peace, even in the midst of financial uncertainty.

These four prayers will get you started:

  1. Lord, guide me each step of the way.
    Trust in the Lord with all your heart. Never rely on what you think you know. Remember the Lord in everything you do, and he will show you the right way.– Proverbs 3:5-6 (GNTD)
  2. Lord, provide for my needs.
    And with all his abundant wealth through Christ Jesus, my God will supply all your needs. To our God and Father be the glory forever and ever! Amen.– Philippians 4:19-20 (GNTD)
  3. Lord, give me peace when I feel anxious.
     “Peace is what I leave with you; it is my own peace that I give you. I do not give it as the world does. Do not be worried and upset; do not be afraid.– John 14:27 (GNTD)
  4. Lord, help me honor you with my finances.
     “So do not start worrying: ‘Where will my food come from? or my drink? or my clothes?’… Instead, be concerned above everything else with the Kingdom of God and with what he requires of you, and he will provide you with all these other things.– Matthew 6:31, 33 (GNTD)