You Already Have the Weapon You Need: How Prayer and Fasting Dismantles Anxiety

FROM MY HEART TO YOURS

Anxiety is real. I want to say that first, before anything else. Not as a disclaimer, but as a pastoral truth. The racing thoughts at 2am. The dread that settles before you even open your eyes. The way your body responds to a threat that hasn’t happened yet. These are not signs of weak faith. They are signs of being human in a world that is genuinely hard. What I have learned — in ministry, in my own seasons of overwhelm, and in sitting with women who are stretched thin — is that anxiety is often a signal, not a sentence. It is telling you something is unresolved, something is being carried that was never meant to be yours alone. Barb Roose has spent years studying what the Bible says about worry, and she puts language to something I have lived: fasting is not a religious performance. It is a weapon. And most of us are leaving it on the table. 

Read this one with your journal open. Something is going to shift.

— LaVonda

God's Warrior Woman ~ Barb's interview

Join me for an inspiring conversation with Barb Brose, a featured author of "Warrior Women: Overcoming Through the Power of Fasting and Praying."

Barb is a passionate speaker and author dedicated to teaching women to live beautifully and courageously, experiencing God's great adventure of purpose. 

Often times we search for peace in objects or habits that cannot bring fulfillment, peace is found in God alone, not in circumstances. Fasting helps us embrace the discomfort and allows God to fill us with Himself.

 Fasting is a secret weapon against worry. It's like the dentist's pick tool, reaching hidden crevices that impact our peace, stress, and struggles. 

I love what Barb said here during our interview, "The Wilderness season is not a sign of abandonment but an invitation for God's deep work and Matthew 4 teaches us dependence on God in challenging times."

Fasting builds strength within us. If we can fast, we can exercise self-control in tough circumstances and resist undisciplined pacifiers.

 “Do not be anxious about anything, but in every situation, by prayer and petition, with thanksgiving, present your requests to God. And the peace of God, which transcends all understanding, will guard your hearts and your minds in Christ Jesus.”

— Philippians 4:6–7 NIV

Selah

Paul wrote Philippians 4:6 from a prison cell. Not from a quiet retreat center. Not from a season of abundance and answered prayer. From chains. Which means the peace he describes is not the absence of hard circumstances — it is a garrison, a military guard, stationed around your heart in the middle of them. Notice the structure of the verse: pray first, then petition, then thanksgiving — and the peace follows. Not as a feeling you conjure, but as a gift that arrives when you hand God what you have been clutching. Anxiety tightens the grip. Prayer opens the hand. And then 2 Timothy 1:7 reminds us that the spirit of fear is not from God — which means when anxiety is driving, it is not the Holy Spirit at the wheel. What God has given you is power, love, and a sound mind. These are not things you earn by being calm. They are things you already carry. Fasting and prayer are how you reach back for what is already yours.

— LaVonda

3 Spiritual Weapons Anxiety Cannot Withstand

Barb calls fasting the dentist’s pick tool — reaching the hidden crevices that impact your peace. Here are the three weapons she points to, and how to pick them up.

1. Prayer — specific, not general.
Vague anxiety needs specific prayer to dismantle it. Not “Lord, help me not worry” but “Lord, I am afraid of this exact thing — that my health will fail, that this relationship will end, that I will not be enough. I bring it to You by name.” Philippians 4:6 says “in every situation” — meaning nothing is too small or too specific to bring. The more specific you get in prayer, the less room the anxiety has to roam.

2. Fasting — as an act of dependence, not discipline.
Barb says fasting helps you embrace discomfort and allows God to fill you with Himself. The mechanism is simple: when your body signals need and you turn to God instead of the pacifier — the snack, the scroll, the distraction — you are training your spirit that God is sufficient. Do this enough times and you begin to believe it in the moments when anxiety rises. You have already proven to yourself that you can reach for Him first.

3. Scripture memorization — as a weapon, not decoration.
The wilderness season Jesus entered in Matthew 4 was met with the Word, not with feelings. Every time the enemy came, Jesus answered with Scripture. “It is written.” You need a short list of verses you know by heart — not a Bible app you have to unlock, but words already in your mouth. Philippians 4:6–7. Isaiah 41:10. 2 Timothy 1:7. These three alone will cover most of what anxiety throws at you.

A 3-Minute Anxiety Reset Prayer

Pray this slowly. Out loud if you can. Let each section land before you move to the next.

"Lord, I come to You with this anxiety I have been carrying.

I name it before You now: [name what is worrying you, out loud].

I confess that I have been trying to carry this in my own strength.

I have been rehearsing it, analyzing it, and bracing for it —

instead of bringing it to You.

You said to be anxious about nothing and to bring everything to You in prayer.

So I bring this. All of it. With open hands.

I receive the peace You promise — the kind that does not make sense given my circumstances.

Guard my heart and my mind in Christ Jesus.

I choose to think on what is true, what is good, what is faithful.

You have not given me a spirit of fear.

What You have given me is power, love, and a sound mind. I receive all three right now.

In Jesus’ name,

Amen"

Watch my full conversation with Barb below. She goes deeper on every one of these weapons.

Reflect

What is the anxiety that keeps coming back? Name it specifically. Then look up one verse that speaks directly to that fear — not a general verse about worry, but one that addresses what you are actually afraid of. Write it down. That is your weapon for this week.

A WARRIOR’S PRAYER

Father, anxiety does not get the last word in my life. I bring You every racing thought, every sleepless night, every what-if that has been running on a loop. I name them before You and I lay them down. Not because the circumstances have changed, but because You are bigger than all of them. Give me the weapons I need for this season. Teach me to pray specifically. Show me where fasting would break something open. Put the Scriptures I need in my mouth before I need them.

I receive what You have already given me: power, love, and a sound mind. These are mine. I walk in them today.

The peace that surpasses understanding — I ask for it now. Guard my heart. Guard my mind. Let me rest in You. 

In Jesus’ name, Amen.

— LaVonda

You Were Made to Overcome

You are not alone and anxiety is not your identity. God created you in His image — which means you carry His power, His love, and His sound mind. The weapons are already in your hands. This is about learning to pick them up.

If anxiety has been running your life and you are ready to take it back — with Biblical tools, practical strategy, and someone walking alongside you — I would love to connect. My coaching is built for women exactly here.

Click HERE to sign up for my newsletter, and you'll received the FREE Warrior Woman Workbook — Overcoming Through the Power of Prayer and Fasting — when you join the email community. It is the companion resource for everything Barb’s interview points you toward.

The Warrior Women Series will offer motivation and inspiration through heartfelt stories, illustrating that you can overcome challenges through the powerful combination of prayer and fasting.

Barb Roose is a popular speaker and author who is passionate about teaching women to live beautifully strong and courageous so that they experience God’s great adventure of faith and purpose for their lives. Since 2005, Barb has been speaking to audiences in the US and abroad at women’s conferences and events, including national platforms like the Aspire Women’s Events, She Speaks Conference and the UMC Leadership Institute.

Barb is the author of multiple Bible studies such as Breakthrough: Finding Freedom in Christ, Surrendered: Letting Go and Living Like Jesus, and I’m Waiting, God: Finding Blessing in God’s Delays. She’s also the author of multiple books like Finding Jesus in the Psalms, Surrendered: 40 Devotions to Help You Let Go and Live Like Jesus, and Winning the Worry Battle.

You can connect with Barb on her website https://www.barbroose.com, Facebook, and Instagram.

Prayer, Prose & Paint

lavondamccullough.com