A Prayer about Listening to God

A Prayer

Dear Heavenly Father,

I am reflecting on Acts 4:19, which says “But Peter and John replied, ‘Which is right in God’s eyes: to listen to you, or to him? You be the judges!’” Thank you so much that you have complete wisdom and knowledge. You are the Alpha and the Omega. You know everything that has happened, is happening, and will happen. With you, all things are possible.

I ask you to help me resist the temptations of this world, including pride, greed, wrath, envy, lust, gluttony, sloth, and general discontentment with life. Each one of these temptations look a little different and sometime I experience a single temptation, where other time I face a group of temptations. As I encounter various decisions in life, I pray that you will assist me with focusing on your wisdom and knowledge, rather than the wisdom and knowledge of man. It is always nice when these two things align, but it is so often the case that we have to make a choice about who to follow.

In cases of pride and greed, the world tells us that we need to be the best and to take or demand what we feel that we deserve. In Romans 6:23, you tell us that the wages of sin is death, so even though the world tells us that we deserve great things, we know that this is not so! Fortunately, you are a God that delights in giving good things to people who don’t deserve them. It is so much better to receive good things that are undeserved, rather than to force or steal them away from others. Help me to swallow my own pride and to be humble in all things!

In cases of lust, gluttony, envy, and discontentment we often have desires for things that lead to evil. No matter how much we have, we always want more. While there are definitely desires that are evil in themselves, it is more often that the things we want are perfectly good, but the longing warps them into something evil. Philippians 4:8 tells us to focus on the things that are pure and lovely, but we often just long for the lovely and forget about purity. If we have a perfectly adequate used car, we long for the new car. If we have mezzanine seats at the theater, we long for the orchestra seats. If we have a 3 bedroom house, we long for the 4 bedroom house. If we have a husband who travels a lot for work, we long for him to stay home. If we have a husband who works from home, we long for him to take an occasional trip into the office. If we have a sick child, we long for a healthy child. If we have one good friend, we long for two. The list is endless! Help me to be content and to stop longing for more and better things!

In cases of sloth, I ask that you will help me to avoid feelings of laziness. There are so many things that you ask us to do, and sometimes we don’t want to do any of them. Simply reading the Bible every day can feel like a chore! 2 Thessalonians 3:6-10 tells us that we need to surround ourselves with hard workers and avoid the lazy. When a friend comes to us with problems, the temptation is to tell that friend to suck it up and avoid helping. When someone needs a ride to the doctor, we may be tempted to tell them to take an Uber. There are so many times that we desire a life of comfort and ease, that when something happens to disturb this life, we feel resentment and envy. Help me to desire the things you desire and give me the motivation to go out in the world and take action!

Most of all, I ask that you continue to bless me with your divine protection, as promised in Corinthians 10:13. Please shield me from any temptations or trials that are too great for me to bear, and help me to find joy and peace even in the midst of difficult circumstances.

In Jesus name I pray. Amen.