Don't Let Fear Rule Your Life

Reflection & Prayer Prompts

Personal Reflection Questions

Take your time with these questions. You don't need to answer them all at once. Let them sit with you. Return to the ones that create the most response — those are usually the ones worth exploring.

Looking Back

1. When you were young, how was fear handled in your family? Was it okay to be afraid, or were you expected to push through, be brave, or not make a big deal of it? How might that have shaped how you relate to fear now?

2. Think of a time when fear kept you from doing something important — setting a boundary, taking a step, having a conversation. What happened as a result? What has that cost you?

3. Think of a time when you faced something you were afraid of. What made it possible to do that? What did you learn about yourself?

4. Are there specific people in your life whose disapproval or rejection you fear most? What power have you given them that perhaps they shouldn't have?

5. What patterns do you notice in your fear? Is there a common theme — rejection, failure, loss, intimacy, the unknown? Where might those patterns have started?

Looking Inward

6. What's something you've been putting off because of fear that you know, deep down, you need to do? Be specific with yourself. Name it.

7. When you feel fear, what do you typically do? Do you avoid? Analyze? Push harder? Distract? What has that pattern protected you from — and what has it cost you?

8. Are there emotional states you're afraid to feel? Intimacy? Anger? Loneliness? Sadness? What happens when you start to feel those things? What do you do to avoid them?

9. Where has your world gotten smaller because of fear? What have you stopped doing, stopped trying, stopped hoping for?

10. If fear were not in control, what would be different in your life one year from now?

Looking Forward

11. What would it mean for you to "get comfortable being uncomfortable"? What would that look like in practice?

12. Who are the 2-3 people you could lean on when facing something scary? If you don't have those people, where might you find them?

13. What's one small, manageable step you could take this week to face something you've been avoiding? Something that's not reckless, but also not something you've been excusing yourself from because of fear?

Guided Prayer Language

These prayers are offered as starting points. Adapt them to your own words. Prayer is honest conversation, not performance.

Prayer for Honesty About Fear

God, I don't always want to admit how afraid I am. It's easier to pretend I'm fine, to push through, to keep busy enough that I don't have to feel it. But you know me. You see the fears I carry — the fear of what people think, the fear of failure, the fear of being alone, the fear of what might happen if I actually do what I know I should do.

Help me be honest with myself about what I'm afraid of. Help me stop pretending it's not there. And help me see that feeling fear doesn't mean something is wrong with me — it means I'm human.

I don't want fear to run my life. I want wisdom to know when to listen to it and when to walk forward anyway. Give me courage — not the absence of fear, but the ability to move in spite of it.

Amen.

Prayer for the Step I Need to Take

God, I've been avoiding something. You know what it is. I've told myself it's not the right time, or I'm not ready, or it's not that big a deal. But the truth is, I'm scared.

I'm scared of what will happen if I do this. I'm scared of their reaction. I'm scared of failure. I'm scared of what it will require of me.

But I'm also starting to realize I'm scared of what will happen if I don't do this. I'm scared of staying stuck. I'm scared of looking back and seeing that nothing changed because I let fear decide for me.

Help me. Give me people to walk with me. Help me feel your presence even when I'm uncomfortable. Remind me that you are bigger than my fear and that you'll be with me on the other side of this.

I don't have to have it all figured out. I just need the courage for the next step. One step. Help me take it.

Amen.

Prayer for When Fear Has Shrunk My World

God, I'm realizing how small my life has become. There are conversations I don't have, risks I don't take, relationships I don't pursue, dreams I've set aside — all because fear told me it wasn't safe.

I'm tired of living this way. I don't want fear to keep deciding what's possible for me.

Help me reclaim some of what I've lost. Not all at once — I know this is a process. But help me take one thing back. One conversation. One step. One piece of my life that fear has been holding hostage.

And help me build a community around me — people who encourage me, who won't let me shrink back, who remind me that I'm not alone.

I want my world to expand again. I want to live forward, not backward. I want to face what I've been avoiding and discover that I can handle more than fear tells me.

Be with me. I need you.

Amen.

Optional Journaling Prompts

Use these for written reflection. There's no right length — write what comes.

1. Write about a fear you've never told anyone. What is it? Where do you think it came from? What has it cost you to carry it alone?

2. Describe the version of you who isn't controlled by fear. What does that person do differently? How do they handle the situations that currently freeze you?

3. Write a letter to your fear. Tell it what it has cost you. Tell it what you appreciate about its attempt to protect you. Tell it that it doesn't get to be in charge anymore.

4. Write about something you would do if you weren't afraid. Don't censor yourself. Be specific. What would you pursue? Say? Build? End? Begin?

5. Make a list of things you've avoided because of fear. Just name them, one after another. When you're done, look at the list. Notice how you feel. Pick one item that you might be ready to face.

A Final Thought for Reflection

Fear lies about how big it is and how small you are.

The truth is, you've survived things you once thought you couldn't. You've faced hard moments and made it through. You have more resilience than fear tells you.

Fear also lies about what will happen. The catastrophes you imagine rarely come true — and when hard things do happen, you find resources you didn't know you had. You have capacity that only shows up when you step into the hard thing.

The world can be your oyster again. The pirates can be told they're not welcome. Your life can expand instead of shrink. It starts with one step — feeling the fear and going anyway.

You don't have to do it alone. God is with you. People can be with you. And you might surprise yourself.

What's one thing you're willing to consider doing differently?