5 Prayers to Help Us Be in the World But Not of It
- Michelle S. Lazurek Author
- Published Jan 08, 2024
As Christians, we know how increasingly difficult it can be to demonstrate our faith in an unbelieving world. But it’s especially difficult when we fall into the traps that make worldly desires more appealing than our ultimate desire to know God. Society puts undue pressure on everyone, including Christians. This can be anything from trying to meet society’s expectations about what a Christian is, to falling into the trap of comparison through social media to making money and status our object of worship instead of Christ. We face many challenges in this life, but society can be one of the biggest challenges, simply because we must go into the world and be in the world, but we are challenged by God not to be of the world. Here are five prayers to help us be in the world but not of it:
Help My Identity Be Found in You
One of the biggest issues plaguing our society today is identity. People of different communities base their identity on things other than Christ. They base their identities on their sexual orientation, race, religious preferences, etc. Yet, none of those things define us. The only thing that defines us is being a child of God. Pray and ask God to solidify your identity in him. The next time we face ridicule or persecution because of our faith, run to God instead of to other things to define us. The quicker we can learn to base our identity in Christ and not on what other people think or their approval of us, the more successful life we will have and the smaller the mountain of society will be in our lives.
Help Me Avoid the Trap of Comparison
Comparison can be a formidable opponent in our lives. From work performance evaluations to comparing others’ accomplishments on social media, comparison can become a huge barrier in our lives if we let it. Yet, we know from Scripture that comparison, when left unchecked, can lead to our destruction. Rachel compared herself to Leah and how many children she could have. Once Rachel gave her servant over to bear her children so she could compete with Leah's ability to have them, her relationships with others became strained. God blesses people how he deems fit. It is not for us to try to compete or perform to be in good standing with God or others. God loves us the way we are. We do not need to compare ourselves to anyone but rather run our race with perseverance until we get to the finish line.
Destroy the Idols in My Life
Idols can take on many forms. Idols can even be the good things in our lives, like fitness, family, or even religious practices. All throughout the Old Testament, people in the Bible struggled with authority figures asking them to bow down to manmade idols. Yet, many of those people bowed only down to God. Even though they suffered persecution because of it, God kept them safe and protected them through every trial. For example, Daniel refused to pray to the king instead of God. Because of his refusal, the king got very upset. He threw him into a lion’s den to be eaten by lions. But God saved him, and no harm came to him: “The king was overjoyed and gave orders to lift Daniel out of the den. And when Daniel was lifted from the den, no wound was found on him, because he had trusted in his God” (Daniel 6:23).
In the same way, pray and ask God to destroy the idols in your life. Idols can be money, work performance, comparison, popularity, food, etc. Idols can be hidden under places we never think to look. Additionally, there are some sinful behaviors that churches deem acceptable. This makes it difficult to identify the idols in our lives, especially those that are more readily accepted than others. Ask God to reveal any idols and ask him to destroy them. Society wants us to have idols other than God. When we choose God above all else, he not only grants us a renewed intimacy with him but also provides for us in ways we could never imagine.
Help Me to Know You
Knowing God is the ultimate measure of success for a Christian. Yet, we spend most of our time working and doing other activities that make us happy. We leave little room for God. If we're reading our Bibles, we are reading them for a short period of time. While the other hours of our lives are consumed with worldly things, when we ask God to know him above anything, he is faithful to reveal himself to us. Ask God to reveal himself through the word of God, through his people, and through prayer. When we opt to increase our fellowship and cling to the Word of God and prayer, he allows us to get to know him in a deep, intimate way. This meets our emotional needs for connection, community, and popularity. Society’s offers of fame, fortune, and wealth pale in comparison with knowing God.
Help Them to Know You
Once we are on track to knowing God more intimately, God sends us out into the world to proclaim Jesus to others. This means we need to demonstrate Jesus in tangible ways. For example, we may be called to share the gospel with someone at work. This will take great risk as we may be rejected by a co-worker or even penalized or lose our job. Yet, God will provide and equip us for everything he's calling us to do. It is worth taking the risk of proclaiming Christ to plant a seed in someone's life. You never know when that seed may be watered in their lives in the future. We are responsible for planting the seeds; God is responsible for making them grow.
Society can be a challenge for us as we must live in the world every day. Yet, we do not have to surrender ourselves to the world's charms when we know we are anchored to His Word and are able to speak to him through prayer. Society will always vie for our attention, both in overt and subtle ways. But when we choose to be in community with others, read the Word, pray, and apply the Word to our lives, we are less enchanted by what the world offers.
When we solidify our identity in God, destroy the idols in our lives, avoid the trap of comparison, get to know God more intimately, and then allow ourselves to be equipped so that we may spread God's love to others, we will no longer struggle with being in the world but know that we are only of it. In fact, it doesn’t satisfy. But when we place our trust and hope in God, allow him to provide for us, and become equipped to do the work that he's asking us to do, our lives are more satisfied than we could ever imagine. Our souls, which were once satisfied with society’s drink, suddenly become thirsty for God's living water. When we drink from the living water, Christ promises us we will never thirst again.
Photo Credit: ©GettyImages/The Good Brigade
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