Since my husband’s death I have been dealing with anxiety. I have had two, what I call, anxiety attacks. They took me by surprise. I didn’t know what was causing the physical reaction of fear and nausea nor what to do about it. I sat and prayed until the panic passed. I began this blog about anxiety in May. Now, here I am in September, trying to finish it.

Though the attacks are gone, I often awake in the morning with an uneasy feeling. This is especially disturbing because, when I became a Christian at 27, God freed me from a life of turmoil. Since then I’ve treasured being at peace. My solution is to get up and get busy. I brought up the topic with the doctor at my yearly physical exam. He told me to take a sleeping pill at bed time. That didn’t work. It only made me drowsy the next day.

I think that my delay in writing about anxiety was caused by not wanting anyone to take it as a solution but only as a relate-table report of what was happening to me.

Since May, I’ve watched celebrities, during TV interviews, admit that they have a problem with anxiety. And, in the past few months, I’ve heard pastors acknowledge from the pulpit that they have the same problem. None of these individuals were older persons. And from what I have been reading, anxiety is a greater problem in the elderly (the group to which I reluctantly belong) than depression. So I figure it’s time to begin a discussion. But I first want to encourage you to do an internet search on “anxiety and the elderly”. All of us are faced with the possibility of joining this group, plus we may know an older person who is in the midst of this problem.

“Senior Health 365.com “ contributes the following. “Anxiety is essentially a feeling of worry and nervousness. It is only a problem if it persists for long periods of time despite there being no clear cause of worry, or if it recurs continuously even about everyday activities and events…. When this starts occurring then it is a clear indication that the anxiety is out of control and a part of a disorder – generalized anxiety disorder (GAD).”

Lately I wake up nervous between three and four in the morning, quickly get up and get busy so that anxiety doesn’t overtake me. My primary care doctor is retiring and I’m in the process of finding a new one. In the meantime, I’m trusting the Great Physician to care for and/or heal me. If He directs me to a physician, that’s fine. I’m not adverse to counseling, medication or both.

While waiting, Philippians 4:6-9 has been my constant companion. As I ponder these verses, one word causes me to stumble, “supplication” What does it mean? The dictionary provides a definition – to come humbly and earnestly to God in prayer. But the verses include both “prayer” and “supplication” so they must not be the same.

I believe that God delights in our casual communication with Him throughout our day; but at times the Holy Spirit calls us to a more formal and intense prayer – supplication.. How do you view and practice the difference between prayer and supplication?