And when Pharaoh drew near, the children of Israel lifted their eyes, and behold, the Egyptians marched after them. So they were very afraid, and the children of Israel cried out to the Lord (Exod 14:10).

When bad things happen, and you are in difficult circumstances, what is your reaction reflex? What are some of the things you immediately do?

For example, do you complain?
Yell?
Worry?
Get angry?
Throw things?
Kick a wall, curse, or break into tears?

In Exod 14:10, the Jews were “very afraid,” and how did they react? They “cried out to the Lord.”

In other words, they prayed. Desperately! That’s the next principle in dealing with worry:

Principle 3: When faced with worry, make prayer your reaction action.

Someone once asked Charles Spurgeon, “What’s more important: reading the Bible or prayer?” He answered, “What’s more important: breathing in or breathing out?”

Prayer is like breathing.

So when you’ve got Egyptians to your right, the sea to your left, no rescue in sight, and you’re about to be overcome with worry, “take a deep breath”—both literally and figuratively.