On September 4th, I listed seven prayer secrets.   This week, I want to break these down and talk in more detail about each one of them. 
 
1. Let your gaze be on God, your glance on your request.
 
Philippians 4:6-7  “Do not be anxious about anything, but in everything, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. 7 And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus. 
 
We tend to gaze at our problem and glance at God, when what we should do is gaze on God and glance at our request. In other words, when problems arise we focus too much on the trouble and not enough on the God who is there to walk with us in our troubles. When we gaze at our problems, our prayers will never bring us peace. They simply become a worry session disguised as prayer.
 
Last week, I mentioned 2 Chronicles 20:1-12.
 
Jehoshaphat was facing an insurmountable problem.  The enemy was coming after God’s people with massive numbers.  What did Habakkuk do?  He called the people together and led them to gaze on God as they glanced at their problem.
 
Look how he begins by gazing on God:
 
“Then Jehoshaphat stood up in the assembly of Judah and Jerusalem at the temple of the LORD in the front of the new courtyard 6 and said: “O LORD, God of our fathers, are you not the God who is in heaven? You rule over all the kingdoms of the nations. Power and might are in your hand, and no one can withstand you.” (verses 5)
 
Then, he glances at this problem and expresses to God what’s going on. He acknowledges that he has no power to win the battle.  “O our God, will you not judge them? For we have no power to face this vast army that is attacking us.” (verse 12)
 
After glancing at his problem, he immediately turns his gaze back on God.
“We do not know what to do, but our eyes are upon you.” (verse 12)
 
If you do not have an overwhelming issue in your life today, just wait and one will come your way soon.  It is inevitable that all of us will have our share of struggles.  When problems come, are you going to gaze at your problem and worry yourself into a frenzy? Or, are you going to gaze at God and trust Him to meet your need?