I read a devotional that said when the writer spotted a negative emotion she stopped and asked God to help her identify the cause so she could hand it over to Him.
SPOT. STOP. Word aficionado that I am, seeing those two words utilizing the same letters got my creative juices whirring.
When worry, frustration or prejudice knock at the door of our minds we should do two things – spot it and then stop it. This helps to objectify whatever “it” is and remove it from any misguided emotions churning inside of us and threatening to rise to the surface.
A hot-tempered person stirs up conflict, but the one who is patient calms a quarrel. Proverbs 15:8
from lifehacker.com
Cooks know that in order to keep something from boiling over in a pot you can place a wooden spoon over the mouth of the pot. It acts as a barrier, popping the bubbles that rise, destabilizing them and making the rising boiling water retreat back into the pot. By spotting the potential disaster, the cook knows how to stop it.
Prayer can be like a wooden spoon. Instead of stirring our emotions up, it can help keep things in control if we use it to cover the situation. Prayer stops fear, anxiety or negativity from bubbling up inside us.
Once our bubbling emotions are quelled, we must resist the urge to pick up the spoon and stir the pot, causing it to boil up again. We need to be careful to not use prayer time only as a complaint session to revisit our angst and not get beyond it. Sure, God is a great sounding board, but at one point we need to stop and then give whatever it is to HIm. Then allow Him to deal with, heal, or reveal the purpose of the issue.
He has the ability to turn down the heat, or He may choose not to do so. Perhaps He will let things simmer in order to move us to act, hopefully through prayer. Or, He might remove the pot from the stove, so to speak. Either way, we must allow Him to reveal to us how, once spotted, we can stop it from getting out of control so He can use it for good.
Where Did You Find God Today? 
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